“We weren’t able to spoil the party”

Head coach Ole Werner: “It’s a tough result to take. We let too many goals in. We were also too naive at the back, and only started posing a threat to Leverkusen’s defence when they were already 3-0 up, at which point there was no chance of turning the game around. We gave the ball away too easily on the attack. That’s unacceptable, especially when you consider that we played well for the first hour and had 40 to 45 percent of the possession. We didn’t pose a threat when going forward, so it never would have been possible to pick up some points against a world-class side, and we paid the price for it today. It wasn’t not good enough. Ultimately, Leverkusen deserved to win, but we let them score too many. That simply cannot happen to us.”

Leonardo Bittencourt: “We played really well for the first 60 minutes, but then conceded three easy goals. Two shots from distance and a penalty – that just can’t happen. When you let goals in like that here, you’ll only ever come away empty-handed. Leverkusen are currently one of the best team in Europe. If we were to throw everything out the window now, it would be just as painful as the first three goals we conceded today. Congratulations to Leverkusen on a thoroughly deserved title win.”

Marvin Ducksch: “In the first half, it was clear to see that we had our sights set high and were trying to cause them problems early on. It’s frustrating, because even after conceding the first goal, we continued to look to create chances. It speaks volumes about the quality of the opponent when they have a substitute come off the bench and score a hat-trick. Kudos to Leverkusen, we weren’t able to spoil the party.”