Bayern were on tenterhooks for large spells in Tuesday night's DFB Cup match away to VfL Bochum. Serge Gnabry and Thomas Müller turned the tide in the closing stages, sending Bayern through to the last sixteen. "We didn't play well for 60, 70 minutes," Niko Kovač admitted after the final whistle, but added: "Ultimately we're through to the next round, and that's what counts in the cup." Gnabry agreed: "At the end of the day it doesn't matter. We've gone through."
Reaction to Bochum v Bayern
Niko Kovač: "Ultimately we're through to the next round, and that's what counts in the cup. Bochum did a fantastic job today, they displayed what it takes to have a chance as underdogs in a match like this. We didn't play well for 60, 70 minutes, many passes went astray and we casually gave away possession, so we weren't really in control. After Coutinho and Thomas Müller came on we had more control and exploited the space better. And we were more resilient."
Thomas Müller: "We celebrated a very narrow 2-1 cup victory here once. Arjen Robben said back then, 'You have to fight.' We hit the gas in the second half, even if we'd have preferred to level the scores earlier. If you saw the celebration you saw emotions, feelings, joy. It's always nice to score the winning goal in a knockout match in this atmosphere. I think you could see the winning goal took a huge weight off our shoulders."
Serge Gnabry: "We just didn't get through in attack. There were way too many misunderstandings, we gifted possession away far too often. Bochum defended well, with everything they had. They were always a step quicker. At the end of the day it doesn't matter. We've gone through."
Thomas Reis (VfL Bochum coach): "We were heavily criticised before the match. People discussed whether we'd lose by a double-digit margin. I think the team's reply was outstanding. We gave it everything we had today. We saw Bayern's outstanding quality towards the end, when we eased off a bit. But to turn in such a display in this great atmosphere and under these circumstances: the team can be proud."
Danny Blum (VfL Bochum): "We'd have liked to achieve a big sensation to atone for the difficult weeks we've had. I think we displayed a lot of commitment. We proved we can suffer and fight for the club. We wanted to be confident against Bayern and turned in a very decent performance. At the end of the day we saw Bayern's individual quality."
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