“We were the better team” - Schalke match reaction

We gathered the thoughts from the players and coaches after Borussia’s 4-1 Bundesliga win over FC Schalke 04 on Saturday night.

Oscar Wendt: We knew that it would be an intense and tough game today. We didn’t start all that well. Schalke were very aggressive early on and played well, whereas I think we were still feeling Wednesday’s game against Shakhtar a little. We started to grow into the match after around half an hour though. Ultimately, we were the better side and deserved to win. I’m obviously delighted to have scored a goal. Now it’s about recovering quickly and focusing on Tuesday’s game against Inter Milan.

Matthias Ginter: It took us a while to get going in the first half and we were a little lucky to go in front. Even though their points tally doesn’t reflect it, Schalke are a top side; they have a lot of quality and we knew what we were up against, so we expected a tough game. Our second-half performance thoroughly warrants the win though. Our goal was to make up ground on the top spots, so it was important to get all three points. Now we can’t wait until Tuesday’s game against Inter.

Marco Rose: We were too erratic in the first half an hour. We made too many mistakes and gave the ball away too easily, but there are understandable reasons for that. There are no doubt games where a sloppy opening period can carry on for the rest of the match, but I’m delighted that the boys dug in and got control of the game. We were much more present after the 30th minute. The lads improved a lot and ultimately deserved to win a difficult game. The match was also a reminder though that we’re still developing. A really top side would have been at their best from the very beginning so that they could take their foot off the gas a little at the end – we’re not at that stage yet.

Schalke 04 head coach Manuel Baum: The team defended and countered well in the opening stages and our goal was well worked. However, I don’t feel like the effort we have to put in matches what we gain from it. We require an incredible amount of turnovers, tackles, shots and chances in order to score a goal. At the other end, you’ve got an opponent who are a lot more efficient. Three of their four goals came from us giving the ball away too easily, and the other one was a poorly defended set piece from us. Our opponents didn’t exactly outplay us – we were at fault for their goals.