With a 6-0 thrashing of FC Schalke 04, FC Bayern set an exclamation mark in the fight for the German championship before pursuers Borussia Dortmund followed suit with an unchallenged 5-2 win over Gladbach on Saturday evening. In the bottom of the table, the big winner of the day is meanwhile VfL Bochum with its head coach Thomas Letsch. The votes on matchday 32:
RB Leipzig – Werder Bremen 2: 1
Marco Rose (RB Leipzig coach): “It was a difficult game against a good team from Bremen. We made a few wrong decisions, but overall it’s a deserved win.”
Ole Werner (Werder Bremen coach): “We left everything on the pitch. The difference in the end was the quality that came off the bench at Leipzig. You have to play consistently for 90 minutes, and we’re not able to do that at the moment.”
VfB Stuttgart – Bayer Leverkusen 1:1
Sebastian Hoeneß (coach VfB Stuttgart): “It was a very intense game. We were a little braver in the second half. I’m happy with the team’s performance, but of course not with the result. We’ll see what this point is worth in the end. Of course we know that we can have to score points in the last two games, but we won’t play wildly forward in Mainz either.”
Xabi Alonso (Bayer Leverkusen manager): “It was a very intense game, also for the coaches. It’s challenging for us to play every three days, physically and mentally. But I’m very satisfied, the team showed the will to win until the end. Of course we want to still finish sixth. But first we can still achieve a big goal on Thursday.”
Dortmund – Borussia Monchengladbach 5:2
Edin Terzic (Borussia Dortmund coach)
… on points of criticism: “I always have something to complain about, even if we hadn’t conceded the two goals we conceded today. We addressed that at half-time. Even if there’s a lot to complain about in the second half in particular, you can’t forget that we played a showed a good home game. We think there’s a good mix of praise when everyone is beating on us and criticism when everyone is praising us.”
… for the half-time speech: “We didn’t manage to close the center again and again and press the kicks properly. If we’re not ready to run 15 meters forward, we have to sprint 30 meters behind. You have to do one of two things: either you push like this admit they can’t get out or be willing to take the two or three more steps if you sprint after them. We didn’t like two scenes in the first half.”
… to the season: “We’re not done yet as we still have two jobs to do. We definitely need to do better away from home. We like how we score and who’s scoring. We’re the boys with the most teenage goals, with the most wildcard goals and don’t have anyone who scored in double digits. Last year we had someone who was involved in almost every goal. This year we’re managing to spread that across different shoulders and make us more unpredictable. Still, there are There’s potential for improvement there too. There were a few things we didn’t like. That’s why we’re not at the top, we’re still in the hunter role. We’ll hunt everything to the end.”
Donyell Malen (goal scorer Borussia Dortmund) …
… to victory: “It was important to win the game. We know what race we’re in, so it was a good win.”
… to his hit: “The first goal wasn’t really lucky, but I got it right. After that we felt good as a team and we continued to play well.”
… to the championship: “I dream of the championship trophy. That’s how we play.”
Sebastien Haller (goal scorer Borussia Dortmund) …
… when asked about his secret of success: “It’s the mentality, because for me it’s a bonus to be here. I enjoy being on the pitch every day, with the guys in the dressing room, trying to get to know everyone better, to play well together on the pitch. My The primary goal at the moment is to enjoy the time with the lads. It feels good to be at the top of the table. We need more fun and more joy together. In 2023 we will be the best team in Germany. It has to stay that way .”
…when asked if he has discussed a move with Bellingham: “I don’t like talking to players about such issues as I know how busy it is. I think he’s smart enough to know what’s best for him and what his options are.”
Daniel Farke (Borussia Moenchengladbach coach)
… to the game: “We were indisciplined and didn’t stick to the match plan at all. With four goals conceded in the first 30 minutes, you can’t survive against Dortmund. Because of the first half, we totally deserved a loss.”
… to the points of criticism: “We were undisciplined against the ball. Actually, we didn’t want to be in midfield pressing, but either run very high or be totally compact. That wasn’t the case with the first goal at all. Even when we had the ball, we ran out of positions and our attacks weren’t good secured.”
… for the half-time speech: “At the break it was important to me that we finished the game solidly. It was clear that we would go home without any points. I really wanted to win the second half, and the lads did that too.”
… to the upheavals in Gladbach: “We lost 5-2 here today, that’s not a burning appeal for me personally. We’re disappointed and in the same boat. We don’t agree with such a bad half-time.”
Julian Weigl (Borussia Moenchengladbach) …
… to the game: “In the first half we missed almost everything, especially against the ball, Dortmund played right into their cards, lost the ball and invited them into a switching game. That’s where Dortmund is always incredibly fast and dangerous. That’s why we were in the first half very dissatisfied. The way we performed was embarrassing. It was clear that it would be difficult to turn the game around and go home with points. But then we wanted to show our character again and prove to the fans who had traveled that we did things differently can.”
… to the fan chant ‘We’re fed up’: “It hurts, but you can understand it when you see how we generally score so few points away and it’s 4-0 here after 30 minutes. Dortmund offered us space, but we didn’t create anything from it and it was too easy for us to lose the ball permitted.”
… about Daniel Farke: “We’re behind the coach, who actually adjusted us well. But we didn’t do it that disciplined in the first half. We have to take a good look at ourselves.”
… when asked if he would like BVB to win the championship: “I still have a lot of friends in Dortmund who I wish it would.”
Bayern Munich – Schalke 04 6:0
Thomas Tuchel (Bayern Munich coach): “We combined faster and more fluently, never losing the basic order to protect ourselves against counterattacks – we were very attentive. It was the next step in the right direction, buried self-confidence is coming back. But there is no reason for euphoria, we will be tested again on Saturday.”
Thomas Reis (Schalke 04 coach): “It’s not so pleasant to sit here. The defeat is absolutely deserved, even at this level. We wanted to be courageous, and we almost didn’t succeed in that in the first half. We were too awed, Bayern had more will against the ball. In the second half, the game was completely lost relatively quickly. But nothing has changed in the starting position, we have to win the home game (against Frankfurt; ed.) and we will invest everything in that.”
VfL Bochum – FC Augsburg 3:2
Thomas Letsch (coach VfL Bochum): “Everyone in the stadium noticed from the start that the team wanted to. The bottom line was that we were the more active team. We finally accepted the duels again, then we won the balls that we need. The team showed morale, the stadium and all of Bochum was bubbling. Today we’re happy, then we’ll continue and next week we’ll go to Berlin.”
Enrico Maassen (FC Augsburg coach): “We started very badly but then reacted well. We conceded three unfortunate goals because the opponents had that little bit of luck. But they wanted it more in the end. If we took something from here, that would have been it . We’re upset, but we have to get up now and then we still have two real boards.”
Union Berlin – SC Freiburg 4: 2
Urs Fischer (Coach Union Berlin): “That was a great first half for us. We had access and were compact. We didn’t let anything go and took what the opponent offered us. Then you were 3-0 up at half-time. Freiburg did that in the second half well done, we let ourselves be pushed in at the back. It was a bit of a rollercoaster ride. The 4-2 came at absolutely the right time. Otherwise the game could have tipped over. Today we qualified for the group stage of the Europa League for the second time. It was amazing. It’s surreal.”
Christian Streich (Coach SC Freiburg): “I made mistakes. I set up Lukas Kübler, who was sick that week. We had a few who were ailing. I thought it was okay and nothing was okay. He (Kübler/d. Red.) got circulatory problems after 25 minutes. We are very disappointed because we lost another game where there was a lot at stake. We have to deal with it now. We have the next game on Friday.”
VfL Wolfsburg – TSG Hoffenheim 2:0
Niko Kovac (VfL Wolfsburg coach): “We’re the somewhat lucky winners. There was more in it for Hoffenheim, so I can understand that they’re a bit sad. Things didn’t go as we wanted, particularly in terms of play.”
Pellegrino Matarazzo (TSG Hoffenheim coach: “This result feels like an unnecessary defeat. We lacked sharpness in many situations. Now we have to assert ourselves against Union Berlin and see what comes after that.”
Eintracht Frankfurt – FSV Mainz 05 3:0
Oliver Glasner (Eintracht Frankfurt coach): “It was a very deserved win, an excellent first half. It was a great performance. Congratulations to the players for how they dealt with the situation. It’s going on, we’re in the tunnel. We can see the goal at the back, which is called Europe . This win will give us confidence and faith again.”
Bo Svensson (FSV Mainz 05 coach): “We were inferior in every respect and didn’t have control at any stage. That’s disappointing. I don’t think I can blame the team for not wanting to. We have to realize that we don’t have the confidence and physical freshness where we were a few weeks ago.”
1. FC Cologne – Hertha BSC 5: 2
Steffen Baumgart (Coach 1. FC Cologne): “It was a very, very good game from us. We were in control but suddenly found ourselves behind. It was important that the team believed in themselves and continued. It was a matter of time, it’s great that we scored the goals. But we still dropped a lot.”
Pal Dardai (Hertha BSC coach): “A nice performance by Cologne. Nothing happened that we didn’t expect. Cologne felt like they had 30 crosses in the first half and the lads couldn’t prevent that. The pressure was huge in the second half and it didn’t look good. I look for the mistakes in myself. We have to see what happens this weekend and if we still have any chance, we will prepare intensively. We have nothing to tell here and now, we have to go home now.”