“Leipzig gobbled us up in the first half. We were able to stabilise a bit in the second,” said captain Marco Reus. Coach Edin Terzic spoke of a “catastrophic first half” and added: “It got better in the second half, but it still wasn’t good.” The match reactions.
Edin Terzic (to ZDF): “We immediately came under pressure, had a catastrophic first half and had Gregor to thank that it was only 1-0 at the break. We were nervous on the ball, took far too many touches and repeatedly invited the opponent to press us by repeatedly playing the ball square and only rarely in behind. We rarely managed to relieve the pressure. It got better in the second half, but it still wasn’t good. We only had the one chance to score an equaliser through Jamie Bynoe-Gittens. That was far too little offensively.”
Marco Reus (to ZDF): “Leipzig gobbled us up in the first half. We were able to stabilise a bit in the second. We created few to no good opportunities over the 90 minutes. When there are only two games left until the final, that’s far too little. We never succeeded in getting into good spaces or behind the Leipzig defence, we never succeeded in establishing ourselves in the opposition half and posing a threat. We had too little penetration in our play and were too far apart off the ball.”
Julian Brandt (to ZDF): “We didn’t deserve to win the match today. We were absolutely harmless offensively and too open defensively. In the first half in particular, we did not manage to keep hold of the ball. That played into Leipzig’s hands. We already showed in the first half of the season that we capitulate when we’re not focused. We were actually extremely lucky that we got through the first 10 minutes without conceding a goal. Gregor is an outstanding backstop. What happened in Munich was a separate matter. He keeps us in the game in many matches. We’ve made a sh*tty start to the period after the international break.”
