After the 3-1 defeat at FC Bayern, we have the reactions of Julian Weigl, Rocco Reitz, Roland Virkus and the two head coaches Gerardo Seoane and Thomas Tuchel.
Julian Weigl: We allowed Bayern too many chances. They had one or two opportunities before we took the lead and we needed a bit of luck. In terms of their goals, we made it too easy for them and that leaves us feeling that there could have been more in it for us here. But when Bayern kick into gear and leave you chasing the ball for a long time, you’re sometimes missing the energy at the end to keep your concentration. Because of this, we sat deeper afterwards. Apart from the goals though, we defended well.
Rocco Reitz: It was a great feeling when we took the lead. Of course, you then want to see that through to the end. We let them score against us too easily though. Obviously, you can’t stop every Bayern chance, but nevertheless the whole team and I are frustrated in hindsight about how we conceded the goals.
Managing director for sport Roland Virkus: I think there was more in it for us. We began very passively in the first quarter of an hour. Bayern missed two big chances and should have taken the lead. We then got more into the game and every time we were brave in possession, we could hurt them. In the second half, we actually had more of the game but weren’t brave enough on the ball. We were missing what we needed to cause Bayern damage. Then in the end, two individual errors led to defeat.
Head coach Gerardo Seoane: In Leverkusen, we didn’t relieve the pressure on ourselves enough. We managed that better this time. You can’t expect to come to Munich and not let the opponent have a sniff. That’s because of the quality and dynamism that they have, which we saw in particular in the opening phases. If we’d conceded an early goal, it could have gone completely differently. Then, the team started to get hold of the ball, created more and defended better. We maybe didn’t deserve to take the lead, but we deserved to score a goal. In the second half, we never rolled over and we kept on defending well. It was obvious that another wave of attacks would come. We’re frustrated that we could have defended the three goals we conceded better and more calmly.
Head coach Thomas Tuchel (FC Bayern): That was a very important win, which was difficult when you look at how the game went. We had some gilt-edged chances to take the lead early on. We didn’t manage to do that. Then, Gladbach broke into the penalty area for the first time. We made a mistake on the ball and they took advantage really well. The game then became even trickier. Pavlovic’s goal just before half time allowed us to go into the break with more calmness. After Harry Kane’s goal for 2-1, we had more space and a lot of chances on the counterattack. In the end, a set piece was enough to wrap up the game.
