Roman Bürki could not find a precise explanation for the defeat by Mainz. "We were lacking big ideas," he said in an interview with BVBtotal!. He was especially sympathetic towards his goalkeeping colleague Roman Weidenfeller: "Roman deserved the chance to say a personal goodbye on the pitch. Each of us needs to reflect on that."

Roman, not even a quarter of an hour was gone and you were 2-0 down. What went wrong, particularly in the opening stages?
"We were completely caught napping at the beginning, we were not at our best throughout the entire first half. We didn't win any second balls and didn't do well in the challenges. After the break we did improve, but the absolute desire to turn it around was just not on show."

You managed to pull one back relatively early. At that point it seemed like it might send a jolt through the team. What made it so difficult thereafter?
"Mainz played very compact and then consistently looked dangerous via switch-play. We didn't get to grips with that at all. We had few shots on goal and few clear goalscoring opportunities. We had the possession, but that wasn't sufficient."

It was the same starting line-up that has played well in the last two matches. Why did it seem like another team out there on the pitch today?
"It's difficult to say. Mainz made our lives difficult and exploited our vulnerability well. We were lacking big ideas. We had almost no chances and did too little when we did have the ball."

"I'm incredibly sorry for Roman"

What was your take on Roman Weidenfeller's farewell?
"I definitely wanted him to be able to play another game. He was actually due to come on if the result was wrapped up, if we had secured Champions League qualification. I'm incredibly sorry that we didn't manage to create what would have been a wonderful farewell for him. He deserved that. Each of us needs to reflect on that. Schmelle said before the match today that Roman has given everything for this club over the past 16 years. We should've gone the extra mile to make it possible for Roman to have his personal farewell." (djg)