Oliver Baumann: “The win is extremely valuable as we were under pressure. We’ve gotten a lot better after that everlasting run where we only got beaten. We’re playing with a lot of heart and showing character. Pellegrino Matarazzo has had a big hand in us winning three games in a row. He’s very honest and has good ideas. Our team evening was also important. The run gives us a great deal of self-belief.”
Angeliño: “We still have seven games remaining this season. The three wins have given us a little breathing space, but we cannot allow ourselves to kick back. We’re currently in good form; we need to build on that and carry the good atmosphere forward. I give my best in every game and want to help the team. I’m of course delighted that I was able to set up a goal.”
Finn Ole Becker: “It was a very important victory. The coach might not have been entirely satisfied, but the three points count. I enjoy being able to play, even though it was tough-going today. The idea for a team meeting, which we’ve had, came from the team itself, from the senior players. We told each other our opinion, we simply wanted to change something. We’ve managed that.”
Ihlas Bebou: “We played well in the first half and created a lot of chances. We could’ve scored one or two goals more but in the end we deserved to win. I’m gathering more and more momentum and can help the team. I overthought the first penalty slightly but was lucky that I then got a second chance. Then I said to myself, I’ll put this one in.”
Pellegrino Matarazzo (TSG Hoffenheim coach): “The first half was good from us; if we had taken our chances to score, it would’ve been very good. In the second half, I was particularly unsatisfied with the performance in the opening stages. We could not keep hold of the ball in the opposition half. We got stability from the substitutions. Overall, it was a deserved win. The triumph gives us belief for the run-in. The situation looks better than three matchdays ago, but we need to keep performing every week, otherwise we’ll be in trouble. We also want to pick something up in Munich.”
Thomas Reis (FC Schalke 04 coach): “Hoffenheim deserved the victory today over the 90 minutes. I was very disappointed by our first half, only Hoffenheim gave everything then. We were inferior, even though we hit the woodwork twice. We spoke about that in the break. We did better in the second half. The team did not give up and tried to give something back to the fans. Our performance wasn’t enough over the 90 minutes to stay up. The next important game against Berlin is coming up on Friday.”