Bayern wrapped up the championship title last weekend but on Saturday played as though everything was still at stake. Their head coach was pleased with his players' commitment. "It's positive that even the players who don't play so often are highly motivated and play well," said Jupp Heynckes. The Bavarians were only dissatisfied with the early stages.
Reaction to Bayern v Gladbach
Uli Hoeneß: "At the moment we're phenomenal in the league. We didn't field our top eleven and outplayed Gladbach from the 20th minute. It's incredibly fun, we have a very professional team, they play very seriously. The match must have been like Christmas and Easter at once for the spectators."
On Niko Kovac: "We're a bit irritated because we talked about how to inform Frankfurt best, now or at the end of the season, which would have been possible too. And we said if we were in their situation we'd be interested in learning that we've lost our coach as soon as possible. This way perhaps they have four more weeks than they'd have at the end of the season. We've decided to do it as soon as possible. We don't understand at all why they're trying to make a boomerang out of this generous act."
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge: "There's no irritation from our perspective. The matter may look like it from th outside, but we have nothing at all to blame ourselves for. The whole matter was settled on Thursday. [...] I can understand that Fredi [Bobic] is not happy when a coach with whom they've cooperated successfully for two years leaves the club. We understand that. But our behaviour wasn't disrespectful, it was completely proper and fair. And we didn't inform the general public - I must emphasise that. From our point of view everything was conducted seriously and properly."
Jupp Heynckes: "We needed 20 minutes to find our way into the game today. We took control step by step and quickly equalised and took the lead. It was a commanding display with wonderful passing combinations, especially after the break. It's positive that even the players who don't play so often are highly motivated and play well."
David Alaba: "We struggled to find our way into the game. Gladbach did a very good job at the beginning, but we quickly got a grip and imposed our play. I've improved shots with my right foot over the last few years, and I'm glad it worked so well today. I was free of pain, it felt very, very good. Our target is to keep up our rhythm and put into practice what the coach demands."
Dieter Hecking (Borussia Mönchengladbach coach): "I'm angry today. Everyone knows Bayern can always dominate their matches, but what happened after their third goal is unacceptable. We defended very poorly and just let them play. They played with spirit too, which we wanted to avoid. It simply wasn't good enough today."
Christoph Kramer (Borussia Mönchengladbach): "We did a good job in the first 20 minutes. You have to play like that if you want to take points against Bayern: we were bold and were often in possession. I wish we'd kept going after conceding the first goal instead of dropping deeper. Bayern did a good job of course, it's hard to defend then."
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