The excitement prior to the start of the season was great, and the Bundesliga opening match between Borussia Mönchengladbach and FC Bayern delivered on that! In the end, the two teams drew 1-1 at Borussia-Park. "The crowd witnessed a gripping game. In the end, a draw is a fair result," Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann summarised. "For the fans it was exciting, but of course we would've liked to have won. We still have a lot to do," said midfielder Leon Goretzka. fcbayern.com has compiled reaction from players and coaches after the season curtain-raiser in Mönchengladbach.
Reaction from the Bayern camp
Julian Nagelsmann: "You are never satisfied when you don't win. There were many chances for both sides. We were a bit lucky towards the end. After the break, Gladbach were lucky when we had many chances. All in all, it was quite scrappy, but the crowd witnessed a gripping game. The quarter of an hour after the break showed that we are capable of creating many chances, but we had to score another goal. In the end, there was a lot of back and forth, we'll have a bit more structure there soon. In the end, a draw is a fair result. We played good opponents. In attack, we need to have a bit more positional stability to have a better structure. We were already aware that we still have room to improve."
Manuel Neuer: "Of course, it's not the result we would have wanted. We were 1-0 down, that can happen in Gladbach. From the 25th minute onwards we played better, at the beginning we weren't in the game so much. We improved steadily and got the deserved equaliser. We have to accept a draw and now look forward to the midweek Supercup game against Dortmund."
Robert Lewandowski: "It was an intense game, both teams had chances. Our play wasn't perfect. There were many simple mistakes, pace and consistency were missing. But the first game is done. Now we can prepare for the next game. It's never easy for us here. It was really cool to play with fans again and that's also something special."
Thomas Müller: "We could have taken more from the game. But Gladbach could have also scored another goal. Unfortunately, we failed to make the most of our good phases. We had the game under control and played good football. At the back, we lost a bit of structure, it went a bit back and forth. We have some things we still have to improve, we will work on that before Tuesday."
Leon Goretzka: "It was a typical opening game with a hectic start where we fell behind. After that, we had better control of the game, especially at the start of the second half we had a phase where we had a number of chances, and good ones too. That's when we had to score. Towards the end it got scrappy again. It was a good watch for the fans, but of course we would've liked to have won. We still have a lot to do. I'm sure we'll improve from game to game in the course of the first half of the season."
Reaction from Gladbach's camp:
Adi Hütter (Head coach, Borussia M‘Gladbach): "The point against Bayern is more than deserved. We performed well. We can also thank our outstanding goalkeeper Yann Sommer. It was a great opening game, but both teams have room for improvement."
Lars Stindl (Borussia M’Gladbach): "We set off some fireworks in the early phases of the game and had great opportunities. Then we took a bit of a battering. That's when Bayern have the quality and are able to play to their advantage. Yann Sommer made a sensational save. It was a bit of a shame in front of goal. We had chances to win the game. All in all, the attitude and the crowd made it a really great, successful evening at Borussia Park."
Patrick Herrmann (Borussia M’Gladbach): "Getting a point against Bayern is always good. In front of goal, we could have won the game. But Bayern also had their chances. It was a great game. Let the season begin!"
The match report:
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