It wasn't meant to be. Despite a clear improvement in performance in the second half, FC Bayern were beaten 2-1 (2-0) by Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga on Saturday. "We started the game badly," said coach Hansi Flick, describing his team's first 45 minutes. "After the break, the team woke up. Unfortunately, we couldn't convert the chances into a point. We would have deserved that," Flick continued.
Reaction from the Bayern camp
Hansi Flick: "We started the game badly. Frankfurt did very well in the first half, had a lot of speed and put us under a lot of pressure. In the second half, we wanted to do things better, and we succeeded. If we'd played from the start like we did in the second half, Bayern Munich would have won. It wasn't like that, we have to live with that. As far as the second half is concerned, I'm satisfied. It's a sign the team was there. We've had some tough days recently, you can't forget that. After the break, the team woke up. Unfortunately, we didn't convert our chances into a point. We would have deserved one. It's a long season. We'll build on the second half performance."
Leon Goretzka: "We went missing in the first half. If we'd given the performance in the second half from the beginning, we would have definitely won the game. It was a top game today. Being present in the game is usually FC Bayern's greatest quality. Today it wasn't the case. Of course, you can always find explanations and excuses. But that is not our task. We will look to provide the answers on the pitch in the coming games. We've dropped five points in the last two games. Now it's tense again. We'll make sure we step on the gas again and pick up points."
Manuel Neuer: "We didn't learn from the Bielefeld game. It's not enough against this kind of team. Frankfurt have strong players in attack. They presented us with problems from the start. There must be aggressiveness on our part on the pitch from the start. In the second half, we showed a better side of ourselves. If we had played like that from the beginning, we'd have won the game."
Reaction from the Frankfurt camp:
Adi Hütter (Eintracht Frankfurt head coach): “It was a game of two halves. We struggled in the second half. We were more defensive and Bayern showed their class. We were lucky there. However, in the first half I was really impressed by our performance - it could have been 4-0. But in the second half Bayern showed why they are the best team in the world.”
Martin Hinteregger (Eintracht Frankfurt): “We played strong football in the first half and fortunately scored the goals. Maybe Bayern weren’t expecting that. In the second half it was logical Bayern would come forwards a bit more.”
Amin Younes (Eintracht Frankfurt): “We played a good first half. It was more difficult in the second half because Bayern put on a lot of pressure. It's a great team. We did a lot right in the first half. Big compliments to the whole team.”
The match report:
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