The statements from Fabian Wohlgemuth, Atakan Karazor, Leonidas Stergiou, Angelo Stiller, Alexander Nübel and the two head coaches after the 3-1 home win against FC Bayern Munich.
VfB head coach Sebastian Hoeneß: “We did very well in the first half. The penalty against us pulled the plug on us for a moment, but otherwise a lot of what we had planned to do today worked out. In the second half the game developed into a more open game; we were a bit too greedy in the first phase and attacked too early. But things got better again. In the end we got the game on our side today, which we are really happy about. This means that we qualified for the UEFA Champions League on our own. That makes us very proud.”
VfB sports director Fabian Wohlgemuth: “We were the more active team today and got into the duels better, especially at the beginning, so in my opinion the win today was well deserved. The response from the fans to our entry into the UEFA Champions League and how they carried us through the last few games is sensational. We also want to get the highest possible number of points from the last two games.”
Atakan Karazor: “We expected Bayern to be tactically similar today to the first leg, which is what happened. We have now qualified directly for the UEFA Champions League on our own. That’s what we planned to do before the game.”
Leonidas Stergiou: “To score my first goal for VfB at home against Bayern in front of such an incredible crowd is absolutely amazing. It was a great pass from Deniz. When I was in front of the goal, I just wanted to put it in. We gave everything today, a big compliment to the team. After the final whistle it was just a feeling of goosebumps. Big compliment to the fans. It’s special how they’ve supported us all season.”
Angelo Stiller: “We didn’t want to finish fifth, we wanted to stay in the top four – that’s what we set out to do. We showed our strong face today, played courageously and deserved to win. We also have a great team spirit, which has set us apart throughout the season and you can see it on the pitch. It’s important for us to continue to work hard to achieve the highest possible score.”
Alexander Nübel: “We are overjoyed with the victory. It was a great game for us and, in a way, a little crowning moment for this season.”
FCB head coach Thomas Tuchel: “Congratulations to VfB. For us it was the sandwich game between the two UEFA Champions League semi-finals. The first half of ours wasn’t good. VfB had too much possession and we lost too many balls. We weren’t grippy enough. The second half was better, we had good chances to score and allowed less. It’s annoying that we conceded two more goals at the end. We have to put the game behind us quickly and think about our semi-final second leg on Wednesday as soon as we’re on the bus.”