"It's getting better and better!" says Götze of return

Lots of possession and an individual error at the back were common features of both friendlies the Black & Yellows played in Switzerland and Austria. There was an explanation for both errors, though. The fact Sokratis misjudged a header in the build-up to Espanyol's late winner was down to tiredness and the resulting lack of concentration, as – apart from a few specific exceptions – coach Peter Bosz let the teams he fielded for the two matches play the full 90 minutes, despite the high intensity of their training regime in Bad Ragaz. Against Atalanta, young shot-stopper Dominik Reimann, who excelled on several other occasions in Altach, attempted to pass the ball out rather than blindly smashing it forward. But if not in pre-season, when else is the goalkeeper, who has just turned 20, going to collect match experience between the sticks?

Mario Götze was therefore keen not to see the Atalanta match in a negative light. "It was at the end of the training camp. We used up all our reserves and had a lot of possession for lengthy spells. However, the fact we didn't make them pay is our own fault. We were lacking determination to a certain extent." Just like in the clash with Espanyol on Friday evening.

Götze felt it had been a "good training camp" despite the results, adding: "We got better and better at implementing the coach's philosophy and doing what we set out to do. But we know that there are still some things that we need to work on."

Götze himself is one of the major rays of hope. Having overcome a metabolic disorder, the 25-year-old looks set to restart his career in promising fashion. "I feel very good, because I've been able to join in almost every training session over the last three weeks. It's getting better and better!"
Boris Rupert