High fives all round! FC Bayern won the top-billed Bundesliga match of the weekend, beating Bayer Leverkusen 5-1 - with all five goals coming in a blitz of a first half. Braces by Robert Lewandowski and Serge Gnabry, three goals in four minutes and irresistible pressing: the record champions set off attacking fireworks in the BayArena. After the match, a tenth victory in the last eleven matches for FCB, players and coaches from both sides spoke to the media.
Reaction from the away camp:
Julian Nagelsmann: "It was really impressive in the first half. We could have even scored two or three more goals before we got our opener. We had an incredible number of chances and excellent structure when we had the ball. Leverkusen had very little way through in the first half. We were always solid at the back when counter-attacking and definitely had chances to score a sixth, seventh or eighth. That was very, very strong. In the second half, it was clear how things would go when you lead 5-0 at the break. Still, we had good control and some chances. But we didn't get much of a hold on the game and Leverkusen had a lot of possession. In the end, it was still a good performance."
Robert Lewandowski: "We knew what to expect before the game. I'm happy that I scored again. We can be satisfied with today's performance. Five goals in 45 minutes - the result shows the kind of football we played. The first 10 to 15 minutes we played a bit too deep. But the way we then went forward and scored our goals was great. After the first and second goal, we kept at it. After 45 minutes it was already clear that we would take home all three points. In the second half, we were able to play a bit more with calmness and control, especially considering we've got another game in three days."
Joshua Kimmich: "I thought we were capable of this performance. To be honest, I didn't find the first 10 to 15 minutes that convincing. It was a bit back and forth, it was a very intense game. But then the first half from the 30th minute onwards was gigantic. Our opponents tried to counter us with intensity. The opener came after three or four minutes, which suited us well, of course. After that, we absolutely dominated the game. The distribution of space was really good today. We always had a lot of players between the lines, especially behind the two sixes. That's how we kept injecting speed into the game."
Reaction from the home camp:
Gerardo Seoane (Bayer Leverkusen head coach): "FC Bayern did very well today. When they have a great day and we don't, you can fall foul of results like this. They were also very effective today."
Jonathan Tah (Bayer Leverkusen): "We weren't awake and at it enough from the off. That was what we had set out to do. Then Bayern got going, and it made us unsettled. That mustn't happen to us. We lacked compactness, so we switched to a three-man defence in the second half. In the second half, it was also about not conceding any more goals. It was clear that it would be difficult to catch up to Bayern numerically."
Lukáš Hrádecký (Bayer Leverkusen): "We didn't deserve a full stadium, this great atmosphere alongside our performance today. The first goal threw us off-course. Then the other goals came in a flurry of a few minutes. That was the end of it. At half-time, the game was already over for us. Everyone has to ask themselves whether they gave everything. We'd set ourselves a lot of targets."
The match report:
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