“Only” in inverted commas 0-0 again FC Cologne, the first home match without a victory in 2017 and treading dangerously close to losing third place tomorrow. Yet Thomas Tuchel was in full praise of his team, and quite rightly so. Here is the Manager’s reaction to the match.

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Thomas Tuchel’s summary:

“We couldn’t have expected this performance per se. Yet this is what we once again delivered. We played very well. I gave the team a huge compliment. We know how hard it is to get goal-scoring opportunities against Cologne. How difficult it is to get past their back-line and get in front of goal. But we managed to do just that at least 3 or 4 times in the first 26 minutes of the match. We had some very clear goal-scoring opportunities, but also allowed two counter-attacks in the first half. We didn’t allow any counter-attacks in the second half and defended incredibly well on the whole. The way we played pleased me enormously. The team were brilliant. There’s no reason to spoil our good mood.

… on the lack of cutting edge:

“We had 23 shots on goal, unfortunately only 4 on target. That’s the fly in the ointment. Our precision with finishing was certainly the thing which would have got us over the line and got the victory. But that’s sometimes how it is in football. It’s not worth celebrating this result with the performance we gave.

… on Neven Subotic:

“He deservedly got his applause for everything he achieved with us. That’s the way it is in this stadium. And it’s a good thing”.

… on managing training next week:

“We have given the team two days off. We’ll pick up where we left off on Tuesday morning. We have a few injuries to completely get over. We need a bit of time to take a deep breathe. It was a long, demanding and exciting month. It was fun to  be coaching outside today and to feel the intensity and energy, which was exactly what we wanted today. So it will be good for us to have a break, to take a deep breathe and to have a little longer to prepare for Hoffenheim.

… on the “final” against Hoffenheim:

“We have the form, the self-belief and the mentality to win this match against Hoffenheim. The performances that we are giving – today included – and the intensity are of the highest level. We will prepare well. Strength lies in tranquility. It is still a long way to go until Saturday. But we will be ready.

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Cologne Manager Peter Stöger’s views:

“We are very satisfied with the draw. It isn’t a given to come to Dortmund and come away with a point. In the first 20 minutes we had some real problems and a lot of luck that we didn’t fall behind. Then we changed our structure and it was better. We had some counter-attacks and some good opportunities where we could have taken the lead. In the second half the team worked hard to secure a point, against a Dortmund side who were completely dominant but couldn’t really create anything clear-cut. We put in a huge effort and are very happy with the point”.

…on Neven Subotic:

“He put in an outstanding performance. He was a huge factor. It was an unusual situation to be in for him after having spent so many years here. He coped with it all incredibly well. You saw after the game how much he means to everyone”.

Report by Georg Heimann