🎙️ The Buli voices from Saturday: “It was extremely unfortunate today”

Last-minute dramas in Gladbach and Wolfsburg, plus a draw in the hotly anticipated top game between FC Bayern and Bayer Leverkusen. The Bundesliga Saturday once again had a lot to offer. Here are the statements from the trainers involved.

Bo Henriksen (Mainz): “We only won 35 percent of duels in the first 20 minutes.” That’s obviously bad. We knew we had to step on the gas, especially against Heidenheim.”

Frank Schmidt (Heidenheim): “It was a very good away game for us. We were very stable with and against the ball, especially in the first 20 or 25 minutes. We really deserved the lead. We had two or three good situations before the 1-0 win, where Robin Zentner Mainz 05 kept the draw. We were able to use the red card in such a way that we didn’t let Mainz go on the offensive. Especially away from home against a team that presses very high and forces their opponents to make mistakes. “But we weren’t particularly impressed by that today, but we delivered a very good performance as a team, which ultimately earned us three deserved points.”

Borussia Mönchengladbach – 1. FC Union Berlin 1:0 (0:0)

Gerardo Seoane (Gladbach): “The bottom line is that it was the expected difficult game against a team that had not lost a game to date and allowed very little against any opponent. We knew there would probably be few chances to score. My team behaved confidently and didn’t play recklessly. And of course I’m happy that we ultimately won the game with a lucky punch and were able to celebrate a home win with our fans again after seven months. It’s also nice that Tomáš Čvančara was able to show his individual quality. I think this win is important for our process.”

Bo Svensson (Union): “Between the 15th and 45th minutes we struggled a lot. Mönchengladbach did very well in this phase and we were lucky not to fall behind. Gladbach had no real action in front of the goal in the second half, only a few half chances. Ultimately the game is decided by a single action, which is very bitter for us. Of course we would have liked to take a point, maybe that would have been fairer.”

RB Leipzig – FC Augsburg 4:0 (2:0)

Marco Rose (Leipzig): “It was important for us today to score four goals and at the same time keep the goal clean.” Today we performed consistently well over 90 minutes. I was very happy about that! The head often comes into play and the assessment happens quickly. But today we have given the right answer. It’s nice when things we trained during the week also work on game day. The intensity was right, we played great football. We were more straightforward and always sought the conclusion. That gives us confidence for the task ahead on Wednesday.”

Jess Thorup (Augsburg): “We allowed the opponent to concede two goals in the first 15 minutes.” If you do that in Leipzig, you will of course have problems. After the 0-2 we got into the game better, but unfortunately we didn’t take advantage of our big chance from the penalty. The opponent played a good game with their great quality – we didn’t. I need time to work through this because we make it difficult for ourselves when we work against the ball. We deserved to lose and deserve recognition for our opponent’s performance. But we also played our part in this defeat.”

SC Freiburg – FC St. Pauli 0:3 (0:2)

Julian Schuster (Freiburg): “0:3 sounds very clear. I didn’t feel it that clearly. It is important that we learn from it. St. Pauli defended deeply, which presented us with new challenges. We had one or two chances, but didn’t take advantage of them. We didn’t allow many chances. But we have to defend the chances we allowed better. That will be punished in the Bundesliga.”

Alexander Blessin (St. Pauli): “We are of course very happy about the three points. Last week we got the first point and carried the art into today’s game. We stood well, defended very well and allowed little to come out of the game. We knew about Freiburg’s quality in terms of set pieces and outside. We were very stable in the center and had good moments in transition. We struck at the right time. The efficiency that was missing in the last few games was there today. The boys can enjoy the victory today, but from tomorrow we’ll move on with a view towards Mainz.”

VfL Wolfsburg – VfB Stuttgart 2:2 (1:1)

Ralph Hasenhüttl (Wolfsburg): “It feels more like a defeat at home than a win.” After taking the lead, we didn’t take the chance to make it 3-1. Then it would have been difficult for VfB to come back. Today we played against an opponent whose quality on the ball is one of the best you’ll find in the Bundesliga. For us it was first about being consistent against the ball. We managed that well over long stretches.”

Sebastian Hoeneß (Stuttgart): “It was extremely unfortunate for us today.” The fact that we equalized in the end was absolutely deserved. Showing such morale in stoppage time shows what a brilliant team we have! It doesn’t feel great at the moment, but after the Lucky Punch we’re happy to have come back outnumbered.”

FC Bayern – Bayer 04 Leverkusen 1:1 (1:1)

Vincent Kompany (Bavaria): “As a Bayern coach, you always want to win at home. The game went as we wanted it to. The important thing is that we keep going and have confidence that we will win a lot of games this way. The pressing was good, the way we came back, got the second balls and created chances. Leverkusen did well defensively. It was a top game. There are a few things we’re getting better at. We had some good chances. It’s a shame we didn’t win, but we’ll continue, there are still many games left.”

Xabi Alonso (Leverkusen): “You have to be disciplined, stay focused the whole game and not give Bayern any chances.” We played very seriously and are happy with the point. We don’t normally play like that, but maybe the way we handled the point was OK today. We now need balance with and against the ball. Today was tough. But yeah, seeing that sacrifice from my players is very positive.”