The final whistle blows, and the dust settles on the previous ninety minutes. But the press soon wants to get the opinions from the Bundesliga trainers whether they have won, lost, or drawn. Here’s what they had to say following matchday 26.
Eintracht Frankfurt 1-1 VfL Bochum
Oliver Glasner: “It was a great performance from us. We were incredibly dominant and had a great deal of opportunities, but we were a bit unlucky with our finishing. You have periods where the ball just won’t go in. In terms of our play, though, it was two steps in the right direction.
“We need to keep our chin up and keep going, then we’ll get our rewards. It was a very attacking performance with, I think, 17 shots at goal. We’re disappointed but the performance gives us belief.”
Thomas Letsch: “We played against a very strong Eintracht today. Frankfurt put on a lot of pressure from the first minute, but we didn’t get into the game ourselves. Once again, we took the lead perhaps against the run of play. Then came the penalty. Kolo Muani is difficult to defend with his speed.
“After that it was a fight. In the end, it’s a very lucky point for us. But in terms of passion, the point is deserved. We threw everything in, fought with everything to keep the goal clean. We were rewarded for that in the end. It is a very, very important point in the relegation battle. I am very happy and proud of the team.
RB Leipzig 0-3 Mainz
Marco Rose: “Mainz deserved their win today. Congratulations to Bo and Mainz. We had high expectations today but didn’t bring that onto the pitch. I would never accuse my team of lacking desire and carrying out their tasks well. But Mainz were better than us in every area today. I think the statistics will also show that.
“It means that we’re in a spell where mental factors start to play a role. You can’t pretend otherwise. Therefore, we have some things that we need to improve and work on together.”
Bo Svensson: “I think we played a great game. I’m very proud of my team, we implemented our plan well and boldly. Big praise to my team. The belief that something is going on here possible was the deciding factor.”
Union Berlin 3-0 VfB Stuttgart
Urs Fischer: “Stuttgart did well in the first half. We contributed a lot there. No rhythm, no readiness: We’re lucky that we’re not behind. In In the first 20, 25 minutes of the second half we saw the face that defines us. A lot of opponents are struggling against us. It was a disappointing and weak first half and then a clear improvement in the second half. A lucky win overall.”
Bruno Labbadia: “I’m frustrated and disappointed that we lost this game that we could have won. I don’t think that many teams here at Union have had so many good chances to score and nearly 60 percent possession of the ball.
“But we are negligent with our own chances and don’t defend consistently enough in some phases, so we concede goals too easily. We’re on the ground. The important thing is that we keep at it.”
Freiburg 1-1 Hertha Berlin
Christian Streich: “We concede a goal that should never happen like that. That annoys me like crazy. We let the win go. The result sucks, it pisses me off. ”
Sandro Schwarz: “I think we put in a very decent performance away from home. We were there right from the start. We are satisfied with our performance, it was a good step.”
VfL Wolfsburg 2-2 Augsburg
Niko Kovac: “The game didn’t start well for us. We then had many, many chances, it gets to halftime and we don’t know how we can be 0:2 behind. In order to win games like that, you have to take crystal-clear chances.
“Morally we’re the winners because we came back from a 2-0 deficit, the team showed strong character. But I’m not entirely happy with the result either . I think we could have gotten more here today.”
Enrico Maaßen: “Wolfsburg had the odd chance in the first half, but we were clinical and led 2-0 at the break. We kept things tight after the break, so we are frustrated with the way we conceded the goals.
“We have to cut out the basic mistakes. We saw today that we can beat anybody if we stick to our game plan. We shot ourselves in the foot in key moments. We’re disappointed to have drawn 2-2 after the game.”
Schalke 0-3 Bayer Leverkusen
Thomas Reis: “It’s an absolutely deserved victory for Leverkusen. In the first half we had a few chances to take the lead and defended with all our might. Bayer’s quality was better, we have to accept and work through that. This streak is over now, aim is to start a new one next week.”
Xabi Alonso: “The game was tough for us, but we worked well. The first half was tight, in the second we changed a bit. The first goal was very important to get a little more space and to have confidence. We are satisfied.”
Bayern Munich 4-2 Borussia Dortmund
Thomas Tuchel: “It was a good first step. For me, however, it was too open and too wild. Actually, we wanted to have more dominance in the opposing half. We started very nervously in the first half. We lost the ball too much throughout the game. That made the game very intense. The will to work against the ball was extremely high. There were a lot of positive things, but there was still a lot of room for improvement.
“Everyone knew what was at stake today. The will to endure and suffer when things go wrong was there 100 percent – that’s the most important thing. Overall it was a very good start with a win. That will give us confidence and the desire to improve.”
Edin Terzic: “We know that we were able to rely on Gregor often and well. We will continue to do so in the future. Of course it hurts him. It would be silly if I said we played well in the first 15 minutes. It just took us too long to react to the setbacks and shake it off. It was 0:3 after 22 minutes. In the second half we tried again to make some adjustments. It hurts and we will get on the plane very disappointed. We had big plans.”
Köln 0-0 Borussia Mönchengladbach
Steffen Baumgart: “We wouldn’t have complained too much if the penalty was given against us after 15 minutes. Apart from that we played good football, put in a good running performance and despite the quality Gladbach had on the counter attack, were brave going forward. Of course we would have liked to have won, but we’ll take a point with us.”
Daniel Farke: “We’ve taken a point away from Köln and kept a clean sheet, which are both positives. I can’t be happy with the footballing performance, though. We misplaced far too many passes in the first half and lost the ball too easily and too often. That meant we lost belief in ourselves and had to fight to get back into the game, which we did.
“I’m happy with the second half. One of the annoying things, of course, is that we didn’t get a clear penalty in the 15th minute – Florian Neuhaus had his standing leg taken out. If you get the chance to take the lead from the spot, then it might turn into a completely different game. Those are the kind of things you can’t change, though.
Werder Bremen 1-2 Hoffenheim
Ole Werner: “We didn’t start the game well. At some point it became apparent that the team that made the first mistake would have problems. That’s what we were then. We’ve been coming out of the half-time break badly lately and stopping the crosses too badly. We managed to get the goal we certainly deserved, but we made two crucial mistakes and weren’t effective enough on the pitch. That’s why we deserved to lose.”
Pellegrino Matarazzo: “We started the game well and got on well in the second half. We fought in the closing stages of both halves but let ourselves fall too far behind. The team spirit was right, we are very happy about the second win in a row. But we’re far from done, the game against Schalke next week is very important. So I don’t feel any relief yet.”
