Yeni Malatyaspor
Ankaragücü
Leeds United
Sheffield Utd
B. Dortmund
St. Pauli
Alaves
R. Valladolid
Monaco
Lille
VfB head coach Sebastian Hoeneß: “Both teams had their chances in the first half. Sparta played exactly the way we thought they would. They were well organised, aggressive against the ball and very compact. Despite taking the lead we didn’t manage to impose ourselves on the game in the first half. In the second half it was largely one-way traffic towards their goal. We had enough chances to score the goal we needed to win. Unfortunately, we didn’t get our reward. We have to learn how to make the right decisions in the final third.”
Alexander Nübel: “We had ten shots at goal. They had two or three and one of them went in. The free-kick they equalised from was really well struck. In the second half in particular we were attacking constantly. We had some good chances and if one of them had gone in we’d have won the game. But Sparta defended really well and so it ended 1-1. We’d have loved to have won our first Champions League home game.”
Jamie Leweling: “We had a lot of possession and imposed our style of play on the opposition. We had several chances, but Sparta also had opportunities when they hit the post and the bar, and they scored a great free-kick. We could definitely have won but we didn’t get our reward. One point is OK and could end up being important. Our fans were just as up for it as we were. The atmosphere was special, as always.”
