"It's fun to play with the boys. Everyone enjoys playing football," said a delighted Leroy Sané after FC Bayern's 4-0 win over VfL Wolfsburg to close out the first half of the season. And it was precisely this joy that was evident in the second half. "We pressed really well and didn't let our opponents break out at all, that was impressive," declared head coach Julian Nagelsmann.
But it wasn't just a well-deserved win against Wolfsburg - the first half in general made everyone want to see more. "Basically, we always performed well against the top teams in the first half of the season. That's why we can look forward to the business end of the campaign," captain Manuel Neuer said after the final game of 2021. fcbayern.com has reaction from the game below.
Reaction from the Bayern camp:
Julian Nagelsmann: "It feels very good. The first half of the season was very satisfying. Today we had to score the goals against compact opponents who kept their shape very well. After the goal we were a bit lucky in two instances. But we always had very good control of the game. Especially in the second half, we pressed really well and didn't let our opponents break out, that was impressive. In the end, we deserved to win and scored some nice goals along the way too."
Manuel Neuer: "It was a perfect end to the year. We set out to keep a clean sheet again and dominate the game, and we did just that tonight. That's why we can be proud of ourselves. In the first half it wasn't that easy. But in the second half, we had some chances to score, even though we missed a few. In general, we always performed well against the top sides in the first half of the campaign, against Benfica, Dortmund and Barcelona we were always the dominant side and that's when it counts. That's why we can look forward to the business end of the season."
Leroy Sané: "The feeling is very good because we go into the winter break with a win under our belts. We can be happy with the performance today and with the whole first half. It's fun to play with the boys. Everyone enjoys playing football. It was relatively difficult for us in the first half. Wolfsburg were defending well, but we tried to apply pressure and keep the ball. It was good for us to score our first goal early. In the second half, we had more control. We know that in games like this we have to be patient and play smartly. We did more of that, and to better effect, in the second half."
Reaction from the Wolfsburg camp:
Florian Kohfeldt (VfL Wolfsburg head coach): "The defeat does hurt. Especially in the first half we played well, we didn't give much away and had two great chances. We have to score at least one of those. Then things happen that shouldn't happen against Bayern. Of course, we deserved to lose in the end."
Marcel Sch äfer (VfL Wolfsburg sporting director): "Defeats always feel rubbish, seven in a row even more so. It was a deserved loss today, unfortunately we have to just accept that. Bayern had difficulties getting behind our back line for a while. We also had one or two surges forward. But we know that you don't get ten chances to score in Munich. We had two really big opportunities in the first half and I think [scoring then], that would have been good for us."
The match report:
Topics of this article