The whistle blows and the action on the pitch is over. We may all be social distancing right now, but the Bundesliga trainers are still giving their opinions post-match (albeit via a microphone on a very long pole!). Here are the trainer reactions from matchday 31
Hoffenheim 0-2 RB Leipzig
Alexander Rosen: “The penalty was obviously the moment that decided the match. We made a really good start, had a good chance to score and then got the penalty. Then it took almost three minutes. When that happens, you know it wasn’t a clear-cut situation. We were then dealt a double blow straightaway. That’s obviously bitter. What impressed me was how the team kept playing afterwards. They created a lot of good opportunities. That’s what we want to see. We believe we’re on the right track.”
Julian Nagelsmann: “It was a very exciting match. We got the rub of the green today. We obviously got lucky with the penalty and the Baumgartner chance, then we made it 1-0 and 2-0 with our first chances. We had a few problems keeping the ball in the final third, which gave our opponents hope. It remained tense, but Hoffenheim didn’t have any more major opportunities. We ultimately deserved to win a match which fortunately panned out in our favour.”
Hertha Berlin 1-4 Eintracht Frankfurt
Bruno Labbadia: “We simply conceded the goals too easily. We didn’t defend well as a team and let them play through us too easily. Frankfurt deserved to win.”
Adi Hütter: “I am delighted to have won my 500th game as head coach with my team. It was an absolutely deserved success. From the first minute I had the feeling that we were in the game. The sticking point was certainly the red card. In the second half we played well due to changes and won confidently. The three points are good for us, the first important step with relegation is done. We have always believed in our quality and experience and expressed our confidence in the team, and they gave it back in a great way.
“We would have to win all three games and the other teams would have to slip for us to get seventh place. We always want to achieve the best. The team has a top mentality and great character, they already had that before my time. With Daichi’s great dribbling, I thought he was an Austrian slalom skier. The goal is certainly worth a “goal of the month”.
Paderborn 1-5 Werder Bremen
Stefan Baumgart: “”I am extremely disappointed. We did not come close to the performance that has distinguished us so far. Bremen has shown just what you have to show in the relegation battle. If we don’t try to fight against certain situations together, we have no chance, then you can only leave the pitch as a loser. That makes me thoughtful and sad It’s not the Bundesliga. It’s not us. We don’t have to talk about it.”
Florian Kohfeldt: “It was a good away performance. There was a lot of pressure on us, but we fought and played well. Five goals is really good for us. I’m delighted that we could pick up such a convincing win and that we created a lot more chances than we have done recently. The last few weeks have been difficult. We see ourselves as an attacking team but that hasn’t worked. It was crucial that we kept going after the missed penalty and scored the goal.
“The team can enjoy it until we get back off the bus in Bremen. We’re still in an automatic relegation position. Nothing’s done yet. But we can take away from the game that we can perform under pressure. We’ve got Bayern next on Tuesday. That will be difficult enough.”
Fortuna Düsseldorf 0-1 Borussia Dortmund
Uwe Rösler: “Congratulations to BVB on winning. I am not often speechless, but I am today. We played a really good game against a world class team. My boys ran almost nine kilometres more than the opponent – we invested a lot. In the first half, BVB had two good chances, especially after a corner for us, something like that must not happen to us. We hardly allowed anything in the second half and Steven Skrzybski himself had two good opportunities to take the lead.
“Unfortunately, he was unable to reward himself. In the end, Dortmund struck. I am very sorry for my team. It is now a matter of showing compassion, but also of getting the boys up again quickly. As I know my boys, they will be back in Leipzig with a strong performance.”
Lucien Favre: “It was a very difficult game for us. We won 1-0, but we could have lost 1-0. In the end, we took a high risk to score another goal. So Fortuna had room for their counterattack, through which they hit the post twice. It was such a difficult game for us because Düsseldorf was very well organized and played excellently. It was not easy for us to combine. Compliments to Fortuna for their performance.”
Bayern Munich 2-1 Borussia Mönchengladbach
Hansi Flick: I’m really happy to have got the win today, especially considering how hard we had to work for it. We knew it wouldn’t be easy for us coming into the game as we had to make some personnel changes. Gladbach had a free week to prepare themselves for this game and we had to play in the DFB-Pokal in midweek.
“Benjamin Pavard was trying to clear the ball for his own goal, and it just went in, but things like that can happen – we have to take risks from time to time as footballers. It was nice, however, that it didn’t end up being the deciding factor in the game and now we’re coming home with three big points. I think the introduction of Coman and Davies was a huge reason why we won the game today.
Marco Rose: “We gave away easy and unlucky goals. We also should have been more clinical with our own chances. You don’t get many opportunities here in Munich, but we created several for ourselves and we have to be clinical with those. That’s why, despite a strong and committed performance, the lads failed to be rewarded tonight.
“However, we need to be self-critical and recognise that, if we want to win games like this, that we need to maintain control and be alert throughout long stretches of the game. We had a plan today and wanted to pose a challenge for Bayern. I wanted the lads to be courageous and they did well at that, especially in the first half. During the second half, we weren’t able generate much build-up from the back. We now have three games left in which we need to reward our efforts. We will return home, lick our wounds, and continue to give it our all.
VfL Wolfsburg 2-2 Freiburg
Oliver Glasner: “We didn’t play very well before taking the lead. We gained self-belief after scoring the goals, but Freiburg were always dangerous. They played very quickly in the spaces and were threatening at set-pieces. The fact we conceded the goals just before and just after half-time affected us mentally. We made too many mistakes in the build-up to their equaliser, so even though we really wanted to win, I’m ok with taking just a point.
“Freiburg played very well. So far, we’re the only home team to have earned a point in the Bundesliga this matchday. It’s been hard to win at home since the restart.”
Christian Streich: “We started well and were determined to play football against a very strong Wolfsburg team. We wanted to dictate the play. We managed to do that until we lost two or three decisive tackles and then suddenly it was 2-0 and then 3-0, which was a bit absurd because we’d been at least on an even footing until then. It helped us when that third goal was chalked off, as it gave us a boost.
“From the 30th minute until the final whistle it was one of our best games of the season in terms of our positioning and the football we played. Wolfsburg looked a bit tired towards the end and we should’ve actually won the match.”
Köln 1-2 Union Berlin
Markus Gisdol: “I think we got into this game quite well. But then we made the mistake of getting away from the opponent Luring them played long balls, which is exactly what Union wanted, but overall we didn’t invest enough for this important game, Union had more excitement, and if the opponent ran nine kilometres more at the end, that’s far too much. The team can do better, and I expect that we will invest more, play hard and push our limits.”
Urs Fischer: “It was a competitive game, but we were prepared for it. The team implemented our plan over 90 minutes very well. We try to help the boys in difficult phases like last time, but first and foremost the player has to clear his head. And I had a very focused and calm experience before the game. It is now up to us to finish the job against Paderborn and that will be the challenge.”
Mainz 0-1 Augsburg
Achim Beierlorzer: “It was extremely unfortunate for us. After less than 60 seconds we were down 0-1, which is pretty much the worst start for such a game in which there was so much at stake. Then we recovered well and dominated Augsburg. But we had to make one of our multitude of chances count – we had 17 shots on goal. Otherwise I cannot blame the team. Of course it is brutally disappointing for us because we wanted a lot more.”
Heiko Herrlich:“You saw that it was a real relegation duel. The pressure was immense. You score a goal early, then you have something to defend and the pressure gets bigger and bigger. I think Mainz and us had a lot of great opportunities. Today we had the necessary luck, which we didn’t have against Cologne. Therefore we are happy and satisfied to be able to take the three points to Augsburg.”
Schalke 1-1 Bayer Leverkusen
David Wagner: “It was an intense game and it was clear who the favourite was. We knew we wouldn’t have much possession against a side like that, but we still managed to create chances and we took the lead. It was a fair scoreline in the end. I’m definitely happy with the way the lads fought today. They did everything we had asked them to do. We wanted to be tough to play against and fight hard, which we did. This is how I expect us to play.
“Can [Bozdogan] did really well until he came off. He wasn’t nervous and showed how much fun he has playing football. He played like we’d hoped he would.”
Peter Bosz: “I’m a bit disappointed. We didn’t create enough chances and we didn’t play well, especially when we had the ball. You have to play the ball about when you play a team like Schalke who look to get stuck in. We didn’t do that today. I’m a coach who always wants to win, which is why we made attacking changes and continued to play for the three points even after we equalised. Who knows, this point might prove to be really important for us in a couple of weeks.”
