Bayer Leverkusen v Club Brugge
Xabi Alonso: “We want to stay in Europe and give our fans another international home game. Being in the Europa League is very important for the team, the fans and the whole club. We will fight and give our all.”
“I won’t follow the other game. We have to look to ourselves and we want to win to have as big a chance of possible of being in Europe in the New Year.
Nadiem Amiri: “The match is a good time to turn things round. We are full of energy, and we’ll give our all.”
Carl Hoefkens: “I want to win every game, and so does my team. It doesn’t matter when or against whom. And that is why we want to show ourselves again to Europe in Leverkusen on Wednesday. We can be group winners in the Champions League. Those are fantastic opportunities that my players can seize.
“That things are getting more difficult for us? That’s relative. A match like this against Porto: that can happen if you don’t do everything right. That’s also a compliment: it shows how well we did in those first four matches. We don’t need a reference match.
“Leverkusen plays differently than during the first leg, but not necessarily better. They now play more in possession, for example.”
Bayern Munich v Inter
Julian Nagelsmann: “They’re a very good team, like Barcelona. It’s the little things that count. We were a bit lucky in the game against Barcelona. In the Champions League you don’t have that many games to make up for mistakes. Inter have very good players, good players who often playfully free themselves in tight spaces, so it wasn’t surprising to me.
“We have a balanced squad. The last few weeks have shown that we haven’t had a major drop in performance when we change. We will have to rotate tomorrow because a few players are injured and tired.
“We want to win the game, but we still have in the Bundesliga important games, it’s very close in the table. Everyone can show themselves, that’s a good feeling. It’s a Champions League game and 18 points in the group would be very strong.”
Joshua Kimmich: “We played against Italy, in the Nations League. You could see that the national team is in a state of upheaval. Italy has always been known to play with a lot of experienced players. That’s not the case now. They are European champions, so it was surprising to me that they had such a change. It’s always uncomfortable to play against Italy, they have a lot of quality in the team.
“The coach has already mentioned that it’s about sending signals internally and externally. We want to bring the enthusiasm we’ve shown to the field recently. Of course, you want to win every game. Tomorrow we’ll go to the Inter Milan analysis. We want to win the game to send a signal.
“We were very successful in the Champions League. At the end of the day, in February, March and April, it will be decided who the favorites are. First of all, we are proud that we mastered the group, a very difficult group, so well. That It’s remarkable that we’re in first place a matchday before the end of the group.”
Simone Inzaghi: “Compared to the beginning of September, when we played the first leg, we are in a better moment, the team has grown. Tomorrow is a match that does not count for the classification but a challenge in a beautiful stadium against one of the best teams in Europe. We want to have a serious and organized game, knowing that there will be difficulties because we find a strong team with a deep squad.”
Robin Gosens: “I think it will be the same tomorrow: it is a great opportunity for us, because we’ll be able to see how far we have come. We have changed and grown a lot since the first match we played against Bayern in September. I am curious to see how we will play against what is currently one of the best teams in the world: it will be a great Champions League match.”
Sporting v Eintracht Frankfurt
Rúben Amorim: “We are not even talking about a draw. We have to win and know the moment we are in. It is true that we can count on two results, and in the end we can adapt accordingly, but at the beginning of the game it would be a mistake to think about it.
“I don’t think there is a lack of confidence . What we lack is conviction, confidence in conviction, not in the technical part. The year we were champions, you felt something was going to happen and now it’s the other way around and it’s hard to explain that to the players. Everything changes and we have everything to win.
“I think this year the opponents are having more difficulties in stopping us because we have created more opportunities, we have not been able to score. It’s easier for us to create, we control our opponents’ attacks better, but in one or another distraction we concede goals. The ability to react to bad times is lacking and that wears out the team.
“We have to seek strength wherever it is, football is like that. There are good things in bad times, we learn in bad times, but there is not much to take away. I’m not much of an advocate that we have to suffer a lot to grow. The good thing about this is that we’ve already been like this and we knew how to turn around”
Pedro Porro: “It will be a difficult game, like everyone else. I don’t see any difference compared to the game in Germany. They are a great team and they have demonstrated why they are in the Champions League. As for us, we are focused on winning and that’s what we’re going to do.
“Our opponents also have their advantages. We’ve had good games at this level and we’re focused on improving the defensive line, but there are games where things don’t go so well. Tomorrow, we want them to run and we are focused on that.
“The team is doing well, it’s focused on what it has to do and on winning tomorrow, as well as confident and that’s what we’re going to try to show.”
Oliver Glasner: “We have taken another close look at Sporting and also worked through our game against BVB. The boys are still making a good impression. We’re looking forward to this final. I have a very good feeling because I think we’ve improved a lot compared to the first leg. We are well prepared.
““We got this final thanks to good performances recently in the Champions League. We will do everything we can to win this game and make it into the round of 16. Sporting has a clear structure to their game against the ball. They are well organized and it’s hard to score goals against them. At the same time, they quickly play up to the top themselves, where they have a lot of speed and quality.
“It will be a 50/50 game tomorrow. One thing is clear: we have to win to be in the Champions League to advance We only rely on ourselves and will play hard to win.”
Kevin Trapp: “Qualifying for the Champions League round of 16 is something historic that we can do. We’ve worked hard to get through to the round of 16 on our own. This is one of the most beautiful things you can experience. We have gained enormous self-confidence over the last few games. One cog quickly slips into the other.”
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