‘They made it very, very difficult for us’

Holders FC Bayern remain on course for a third DFB Cup triumph in a row. The competition’s most successful club are through to the quarter-finals for the eighth time on the bounce thanks to a 2-0 Round of 16 victory over second division Eintracht Braunschweig. “Braunschweig were very aggressive, kept it extremely tight at the back and made it very, very difficult for us,” said David Alaba, who set FCB on their way with a fine direct free-kick. “Today was a good demonstration of why you should always respect your opponents,” added boss Pep Guardiola, praising the visitors for a courageous display.

Reaction to Bayern v Braunschweig

Pep Guardiola: “I’ve become aware of just how difficult this competition is. Braunschweig did superbly well. Beforehand, people were asking me: how many will you score? Five, six, seven? Today was a good demonstration of why you should always respect your opponents. A second division club has slightly less quality, but they have big hearts. We’re weren’t at our best physically today, but we still had the game under control. I’m satisfied because we’re through to the next round.”

David Alaba: “Braunschweig were very aggressive, kept it extremely tight at the back and made it very, very difficult for us. We clearly dominated the match but we didn’t really find the gaps. But at the end of the day it’s a deserved win. Everyone can see we’re very ambitious and hungry to achieve our targets.”

Torsten Lieberknecht (Eintracht Braunschweig coach): “We wanted to give a better account of ourselves than certain top flight teams, and I think we succeeded. You’re obviously disappointed when you lose, even against FC Bayern. We did many things very well indeed in defence, but we were over-elaborate in attack, despite the fact FC Bayern gave us plenty of space. We’ll turn our focus to St. Pauli now.”