Here are the post-match comments from the 1-0 win against VfL Bochum.
Today was the turn for the following stars to be interviewed:
- Antonio Nusa
- Xavi
- Kevin Kampl
And, as always, our head coachMarco Rose shared his thoughts.
Antonio Nusa
- “I’m very happy with the win. It was a difficult game, so I’m just happy that we managed to get three points to start the season. I wasn’t thinking about scoring another goal so quickly. The important thing was that I could help the team after I was subbed in to do my job. The ball came to me from Sesko and Xavi and when it was by me, I shot it in.
It was really hot today and you could really feel the heat on the pitch. We scored an important goal and defended our lead at the end while outnumbered.
RB Leipzig is a top club, so expectations are high. I want to keep working hard every day to be able to deliver my best performances. So far, things are going well, I want to keep going like this. But we have a lot to do. It was only the first matchday.”
Xavi
- “It was a tough game for us today. The conditions weren’t the best either. It was very hot today. But we really wanted to start the Bundesliga with a win and we managed that.
We started well, but lost our rhythm as it went on. Bochum did well, they were very compact defensively and good on the move.
In the end, it’s all about taking your chances. We managed that thanks to Antonio Nusa’s goal. We keep going!”
Kevin Kampl
- “We had good chances at the end of the first half. We then continued to press in the second half and kept the pressure high the entire match. That’s why, in my opinion, it’s a deserved home win.
However, we still have a lot of work to do. We need to play the offensive situations more clearly. We allowed ourselves to lose the ball unnecessarily today.
We are happy with the three points. A win is the most important thing on the first matchday. There’s still room for improvement, but that will come. We have had a short preparation with the EURO and the US Tour. Now we’re all together and working hard on ourselves.
There have been many games that were similar to this one and that we couldn’t win in the end. That’s why we achieved our goal today. But we know that we can do even better.”
Marco Rose
- “We got off to a good start this season: A home win for our fans, three points and no goals conceded.
But there is room for improvement in all phases. We weren’t consequential enough in attack, we could have made more out of several plays. We have to play more clearly when in possession. We weren’t too refined with the ball and putour goalkeeper under threat on two, three separate occasions.
We played well out of possession. We defended well and with diligence, we allowed very little. I liked what the guys did in defense today. We’ll take the three points, but we’re also aware that things should and will go better.
VfL Bochum played well today. It was hard to play against then, they made it very difficult for us. It was a good barometer for the start of the season.”