Kasper Hjulmand heaped praise on Bayer Leverkusen's substitutes for their impact from the bench in their 4-2 thriller with Paderborn in the DFB-Pokal.

Hjulmand watched on as Alejandro Grimaldo's free-kick immediately punished Felix Gotze's straight red card, a foul which was won by half-time replacement Christian Kofane. 

However, Paderborn restored parity in the 90th minute through Stefano Marino, before Sven Michel gave the second-tier side the lead in the first half of extra-time. 

Jarell Quansah, who was also introduced into the action after the break, levelled the contest once more after combining with another substitute in Ernest Poku. 

Leverkusen edged in front in the 122nd minute as Kofane and Ibrahim Maza combined, with Aleix Garcia concluding the score in an enthralling encounter at Home Deluxe Arena. 

Kofane and Poku were both brought on at half-time to replace Eliesse Ben Seghir and Patrik Schick after Leverkusen failed to register an attempt on target in the first 45 minutes.

"I think tonight we needed their speed for our game – to get behind the back line. And they showed that," Hjulmand told reporters of his decision to introduce the duo. 

"They're very young players who’ve made big progress over the last five or six weeks, and we're happy about that. But they've also been playing a lot, a lot of minutes.

"So we have to be careful. We also have other players – today Eliesse [Ben Seghir] started, and we also have Claudio [Echeverri], and now Martin [Terrier] is on the way back."

Poku's introduction proved imperative to Leverkusen's turnaround. He created more chances (five) and attempted more dribbles (eight) than any of his team-mates. 

But there was also a positive display from Maza, who scored his first goal since his summer switch from Hertha Berlin in what was his 11th appearance in all competitions. 

The 19-year-old has started just three games for Leverkusen this season, though Hjulmand said his performance here has done his chances of a starting spot a huge favour. 

"He's close. I always consider starting Ibo. He's making good progress, working very well and with great focus and quality every day in training," Hjulmand added.

"I'm very satisfied with him. He loves to learn and works hard every day. I'm, of course, very happy for him tonight – though yes, he could've scored earlier.

"He had two big chances before his goal. But that goal was important for him, and hopefully it's another step forward for Ibo."

But Leverkusen's preparations for a huge Bundesliga clash with Bayern Munich this weekend were far from ideal, according to Hjulmand. 

"We have seven matches in three weeks, and, of course, those extra 30 minutes were not ideal for us – but that's football," Hjulmand said. 

"From now, it's all about recovery, treatment, nutrition, and everything necessary to be ready to win against Bayern.

"These next few days are important – not much training, but regaining energy."