"It was important to pick up points after last week and also after Dortmund [won]," said coach Julian Nagelsmann following FC Bayern's commanding 4-0 win at 1 FC Köln. FCB showed from minute one that there would only be one winner on this Saturday afternoon. An early lead by top scorer Robert Lewandowski (9') put the reigning champions on track to a comfortable win. It was "important for us to get our first three points [of the year] and that's how we performed from the start today," said captain Manuel Neuer. fcbayern.com has reaction from both camps.
Reaction to the Bayern camp:
Julian Nagelsmann: "It was important to pick up points after last week and also after Dortmund['s win]. Köln are having a very good season, they're brave and press in numbers. In one or two moments we were a bit lucky. But overall, we had good control and were always able to be dangerous. To score four goals and not concede was important for us."
Manuel Neuer: "It was very important for all of us to win our first game of the year today. It was important for all of us to set an example. That's how we performed from the off today. I think for a player it's a bit more difficult, than it is for a goalkeeper [to come back from Covid]. I had my sessions with Toni Tapalovic and after that I was integrated into the team. I think for the players who have to run up and down, it makes sense to integrate them slowly. We saw that today with Leroy, too, who settled in well."
Thomas Müller: "Of course we expected to win here. Our expectation is to show a reaction after a defeat like last week and we did that. We played well, even though Köln are attacking and brave. That makes playing football fun. There could have been more goals in it for both sides. We're very satisfied with the 4-0 win."
Robert Lewandowski: "We showed from the first minute that we'd come to score goals and win. We wanted to attack early, create chances and score. Today, everything we planned worked out. Nevertheless, Köln continued to play good football. It was certainly a good game for the fans watching on TV. That's why we're just happy. Today we played well as a team."
Reaction from the Köln camp:
Steffen Baumgart (1. FC Köln head coach): "Congratulations to Bayern on a deserved win. We don't need to discuss the margin because Bayern did very well with all their chances. We were not able to take advantage of the chances we had. That's a step we still have to take. Nevertheless, I'm not unhappy with the boys because they kept at it regardless of the score."
Marvin Schwäbe (1. FC Köln goalkeeper): "Our attack has been good the last few weeks. That's what we do best, so we want to keep at it in that vein."
Benno Schmitz (1. FC Köln defender): "In terms of the result, it was very clear in the end. I think Bayern played well. They had many chances. But on the other hand, we also hit the crossbar and had a tight offside call go against us. Against Bayern you don't get so many chances and you have to take them. We didn't play poorly, but unfortunately the margin was sizeable."
Match report:
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