#KOEBMG: Match reaction

After the Foals’ 3-1 defeat at 1. FC Köln, we have the reactions of Julian Weigl, Nico Elvedi, managing director for sport Roland Virkus and the two head coaches Gerardo Seoane and Steffen Baumgart.

Julian Weigl: We played a terrible first half that I can’t explain because we were actually well-prepared. The best thing at the break was the result. We then came out of the dressing room improved and scored the equaliser, but the red card knocked the wind out of us a bit. But the bottom line is that we fell short in every area today. We also have to apologise to the fans who made it such a good atmosphere and stood behind us. We knew how important this game is and we should have offered them more. We have to keep our heads held high now, because we’ve got a very important game against Heidenheim ahead of us in which we want to get our first home win.

Nico Elvedi: In the first half, we didn’t bring any aspect of what we’d planned onto the pitch. We weren’t in the game at all, left too much space and lost the ball too easily. After changing to a back four at half time, we came into the game more and made it 1-1. We then shot ourselves in the foot with the red card. Soon after, it became 2-1 to Köln. With a man less, it was hard to get anything here. Derby defeat really hurts. We have to take lessons from the loss and show a different side of ourselves against Heidenheim next weekend.

Roland Virkus, managing director for sport: Looking at the full 90 minutes, it was a deserved win for Köln. We couldn’t find any control in the first half, didn’t win the individual battles and had no calmness on the ball with which to keep possession over longer distances. Köln therefore fully deserved their 1-0 lead at the break. As we couldn’t find an answer to Köln’s play in the first half, we switched it up at the break. We then managed to get some control of the game and scored the equaliser. For a short period, it seemed as if the game would turn, but then Manu Koné got the red card. After that, the game was essentially over.

Head coach Gerardo Seoane: In the first half, we weren’t in the game, had no control and couldn’t develop at all. It was a really poor performance by us. We had difficulties with the changes of position in Köln’s midfield, and we were missing compactness and giving up too much space between the lines. The second half was an improvement. We took some energy from our goal and the momentum shifted a bit towards us, but the red card put a halt to that. We’re travelling home with a bad feeling and we’ll have to take lessons from this deserved loss. We’re not going to win with a performance like that, so the coaching team will think about how we can give the players a new injection of energy for the two upcoming matches against Heidenheim.

Head coach Steffen Baumgart (1. FC Köln): We didn’t go into this game with a lot of confidence, so you have to manage the 90 minutes, especially in the first half. We were very dominant in the first 45 minutes and we should have been ahead by more. The second half was relatively even. If we’re being honest, Gladbach’s first header of the game went in the goal. This made it all the more important that the lads stayed in it. In terms of both halves taken together, it was a richly deserved victory for us. I’m pleased that the lads showed courage today and were rewarded for that.