We gathered the thoughts of the players and both coaches after Borussia’s 1-0 win over Hertha Berlin on Friday night.
Christoph Kramer: I think we all would have happily taken seven points from three games, so it’s been a great start to the season. There were a lot of aspects to today’s match. We didn’t display enough dominance when Hertha went down to ten men, but we kept them at bay well. We perhaps made life more difficult for ourselves than was necessary and could have moved the ball around better, particularly in the second half. But when you’re up against a side who are behind and are chasing you down, you have to find solutions to that. We gave the ball away too easily at times in the final third, but we threw everything at it defensively. I’m having a lot of fun on the pitch at the moment and I’m really happy with the football we’re playing. We’re looking forward to the trip to Munich next week now.
Jonas Hofmann: Handballs are always going to be controversial decisions. Gladbach fans will say it’s two clear penalties, Hertha fans will say the opposite. We were on the other end of it last week, but it fell our way tonight. I had a good feeling for my penalty, that’s why I stepped up. I have to admit that I didn’t hit it well though. Fortunately, we ended up winning the game, so I’m sure the team won’t hold it against me. Seven points from three games is a good start. We had a solid counterpress in the first half and linked up nicely. If we can keep on delivering those things on the pitch, then who knows what we’re capable of this season.
Yann Sommer: It was hard work out there. We were really good in the first half and had the game under control, even though Hertha had two or three decent chances. Our positional play wasn’t the best after the break; we were hectic at times and weren’t precise on the ball, which led to a lot of turnovers. Still, we ended up getting the win and a clean sheet, which is really positive. It’s important to have started the season like this.
Daniel Farke: Every point is worth its weight in gold in our situation, so I’m very happy with the 1-0 win. We counterpressed them effectively and created a lot of chances against a very compact Hertha side in the first half. We managed to lure them into some pressing situations in the second half, but some sloppiness on the ball in attack meant that we couldn’t make the most of our openings. We worked some great situations, but we should have done more with them. However, we looked very solid at the back and didn’t allow Hertha many chances.
Hertha head coach Sandro Schwarz: I have to give credit to my team today. We played well, created a lot of chances and I feel that we’re unlucky to come away empty-handed. We continued to play courageous football even with ten men and took risks at the end. I think we played really well for large phases in what was a difficult away game, even if there were moments we could have done more with. We need to build on this performance and keep on developing, then the results will come.
