FC Bayern turned in a strong display in the first home match behind closed doors, beating Eintracht Frankfurt 5-2. "It was an attractive game, for the viewers too," said Leon Goretzka, who opened the scoring in Saturday's goal fest. Coach Hansi Flick was "very pleased" with the first half. But Bayern eased off after their third goal: "Maybe we put it behind us mentally, we lacked focus then." But at the end of the day Bayern achieved a clear-cut victory. "Hats off to the team, we displayed a certain doggedness," commented Thomas Müller. fcbayern.com has compiled the statements after the match.
Reaction to Bayern v Frankfurt
Hansi Flick: "I'm very pleased with the first half, we were dominant. The way David Alaba plays at centre-back, how he keeps our defence intact: it's just top-notch. And we must mention Thomas Müller, who used the space very intelligently and was involved in a number of goals. Everything went according to plan in the first half. We scored the third straight after half-time. Maybe we put the game behind us mentally, we lacked focus then. We didn't perform so well when not in possession. Frankfurt are very strong at set pieces. We knew that. It didn't go so well. We'll have a look and learn from it. We hope Tuesday's match will be attractive. Nothing will be decided after that, no matter what the result. The league is very balanced, especially at the top, with attractive football."
Thomas Müller: "It was an absolutely crucial Bundesliga match for us. We wanted to follow suit after Dortmund's victory. Hats off to the team, we displayed a certain doggedness. We must push to our limits. We did that quite well. The two goals we conceded don't look so good of course, but taken altogether our performance was pretty good. Against Dortmund we'll show we can play with an extreme amount of passion, even without spectators. It's a crucial week for us. We've set out to achieve three victories. We're marching on. Dortmund are marching on. We have reason to look forward to Tuesday. We want the title in Munich, where it belongs."
Leon Goretzka: "First and foremost we're glad we can play competitive football again. Frankfurt were physical, it was full-on. It actually helped in terms of mentality. It was surely an attractive game, for the viewers too. Thomas proved his qualities when I scored, he didn't just blindly whip it in but found me. I scored with my shin. Of course I try to contribute my nose for goal from midfield. We must talk about the two goals conceded from set pieces. Manu made a superb save when it was 3-2. We'll be fully focused against Dortmund. We're keen as anything on these matches."
Adi Hütter, Eintracht Frankfurt coach: "It was a deserved victory for Bayern, but I'd like to pay my team a compliment, they showed the right reaction after the match against Gladbach. We turned in a very decent display, we felt we could take something away, especially after our second goal. Of course we knew Bayern can always up the ante. Their fourth goal was annoying because it was more or less an own-goal, a present from us. We conceded goals right before and straight after half-time, that was the crux. I was very impressed with the reaction, the way we scored from two set pieces. We had a few chances after that, including Kostić' effort that crashed off the post. It was a deserved victory although I'm annoyed we conceded five goals. But we can build on our performance."
Martin Hinteregger, Eintracht Frankfurt: "We did a number of things right even in the first half. The third goal right after half-time was a blow. The two goals rejuvenated us. That's just Bayern's quality, they just shift up a gear. Of course we conceded the fourth and fifth goal because of mistakes, but we turned in a decent display, especially in the second half."
The match report:
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