Dahmen: “We had to do a lot of running”
Reaction to the 1-0 loss to Leverkusen
FC Augsburg conceded in the 94th minute to lose 1-0 against the league leaders Leverkusen on Saturday afternoon. Coach Jess Thorup described it as a “bitter pill to swallow” after the game.
Finn Dahmen: “We played well and deserved a point. Most teams in the Bundesliga end up doing a lot of running against Leverkusen because they are so good on the ball. We did well for 93 minutes, which is why their goal in the 94th minute is so frustrating. We’ll need to take one or two days to come to terms with today’s game, but I think we can still take some positives from it.”
Ermedin Demirović: “Losing the game like that is tough to take and we’re therefore disappointed. We know how much quality Leverkusen possess, we covered a lot of ground and held our own thanks to our hard work and discipline. We definitely deserved a point, but in the end it ultimately wasn’t enough. We did, however, show that we can play well against any team. We now want to give the fans something back for their support in the upcoming home games.
Kevin Mbabu: “We put so much into today’s game, only to come away empty-handed. We knew before the game that Leverkusen would have lots of the ball. They didn’t actually have too many chances, so we have to applaud how clinical they were. It’s a real shame that we couldn’t get a point in the end. We weren’t able to remain fully focused right until the final whistle.”
Phillip Tietz: “The defeat is hard to take so soon after the final whistle, it’s a real disappointment. All our defensive work and discipline without the ball didn’t mean anything in the end. We can’t forget that Leverkusen are enjoying a really good season and came here full of confidence. We were missing a bit of luck in the second half, for example with my goal ruled out for offside. Our fans were brilliant today, they drove us on once again.”
Jess Thorup (FC Augsburg coach): “Conceding a goal to lose the game in the 94th minute is obviously a bitter pill to swallow. We did really well out of possession and kept things tight. However, we wanted to be better on the ball and our chances mainly came from counter-attacks, including an offside goal. This is my first defeat at home and we’re disappointed by it.”
Xabi Alonso (Bayer 04 Leverkusen coach): “The last few minutes were full of emotion and the whole game was difficult and intense. We played against a good side, and it wasn’t easy to play in the final third. We believed in ourselves and kept on going right until the end. The winning goal in injury time was the reward for our hard work and a good performance. I’m really pleased as it wasn’t easy to win here.”
