Post-Match Report
Postgame Reactions: Proud of the Result, But “Our Fatigue Showed”
Lars Ricken (in the mixed zone): “It was a very demanding game. I know from personal experience what it means to have had two-game weeks since late August. We played Bayern last week, had a midweek Champions League match, and then took on Elversberg today — a very good team, as they showed not only today but also in their two-one loss to Bayern. Despite all that, we again put more into it than our opponents and deserve to be up two-zero. All of us could have done without the last ten minutes. That said, being undefeated through nine matchdays and being tied with the league leaders on 21 points — that's something no one can take away from us. We want to keep building on it.”
Ole Book (on Sky): “[At two-zero,] we focused a bit too much on sitting back and protecting the lead. It’s only human, given the number of games we've played and the toll that's taken physically. Our fatigue showed in certain situations. After going up two-zero, we stopped attacking and didn’t have enough possession. We were inclinded to hit long balls, thinking that would help us see the game through. In the end, we had to sweat it out because Elversberg started opening up.”
Niko Kovac (during the press conference): “This is very much a hard-fought victory for us. That's the only way to put it. It's to do with our opponent, Elversberg, as well as with these nine games in four weeks. In the first half, we struggled to put together the kind of plays we had envisioned, but Elversberg also defended very well. In the second half, we really found our way into the game. I'd say the two-zero lead was well-deserved at that point.. Then we again started doing what I don't like. We didn’t keep playing and didn’t go for the third goal. We came under pressure because we gave the ball away too easily. That wasn’t good. That said, we gave it our all.”
Gregor Kobel (in the mixed zone): “It was definitely a high-intensity game. Elversberg played very brave football. Sure — they didn't have much to lose, which is how they played. They play free, and they play with courage. You have to acknowledge they're a great football team. That presented a challenge for us. I still felt that while we didn’t play a perfect game, we did play a strong game. The most important thing today was simply to win, and that’s what we did."
Felix Nmecha (on BVB-TV): “I’m very grateful. I think we played a good game. You have to say Elversberg also had some good stretches. They play very good football. They’re a very brave team. They don’t have much to lose either. They know that, and that’s how they play. But in the end, we pulled it off. There were a few things we could maybe do better, but at the end of the day, games like today are really just about winning.
Daniel Svensson (in the mixed zone): “It was a tough game. They made it hard for us. We had some good stretches with the ball and then scored two goals, but then they came back, scored a goal, and of course put us under a bit of pressure at the end.”
Recorded by Mats-Yannick Roth and Boris Rupert