Demirović: “Didn’t have what it takes tonight”

Post-match reaction following defeat in Stuttgart

FC Augsburg lost 3-0 at third-placed VfB Stuttgart in their final match of the year. Read on for all the post-match reaction from both camps.

Ermedin Demirović: “Stuttgart dominated the game for the full 90 minutes and didn’t afford us any chances. We didn’t manage to press the way we wanted to and weren’t able to play our game when we did have the ball. We wanted to end the year on a high, but tonight, we didn’t have what it takes to do that. To be honest, I’ve never been outplayed like that before in my career. We will need to analyse the game and work hard in the new year in order to be able to deliver better performances again.”

Niklas Dorsch: “I think we had a lot of highs and lows in the first half of the season. We didn’t get off to a great start this season, but then managed to turn things around and deliver some strong performances. It’s disappointing to then head into the winter break on a result like this. We fully deserved to lose because Stuttgart were at least twice as a good as we were tonight. They played with confidence – in contrast, we barely had a chance.”

Mads Pedersen: “Stuttgart were clearly the better team, and we didn’t manage to showcase our quality on the pitch tonight. The chances that we did manage to create, we then failed to convert. The first half of the season was a rollercoaster for us, but despite a poor performance tonight, we’re still heading in the right direction.”

Jess Thorup (FC Augsburg head coach): “I’m disappointed that we didn’t deliver a better performance tonight. Stuttgart deservedly won the game, because they played with confidence. We should have been able to do the same after last weekend’s result against Dortmund, but there was nothing to be seen from then on the pitch tonight. We were okay out of possession, but failed to create anything when we did have the ball. It’s definitely not the way we wanted to end the year and it will take a few days to process it.”

Sebastian Hoeneß (VfB Stuttgart head coach): “We’re extremely happy with our performance tonight. My team delivered a great performance from start to finish. Augsburg tried to contain us with a high press in the first half, so we needed to be extremely alert. We scored our goals at the right moments tonight, so that the result is fully deserved in my opinion. We knew we couldn’t take our foot off the gas after the break, because 2-0 is a dangerous lead to have. We managed to see it through and I’m happy that we played the way we did in our final game of the year.”