"It's very tough," was how coach Julian Nagelsmann summed it up after the team was knocked out of the Champions League quarter-finals against Villarreal CF. Despite a strong performance and a 1-1 draw in the second leg, it was not enough to advance in the end due to the 1-0 defeat in Villarreal. "The first leg was the key. We didn't play well there and lost the tie," Nagelsmann summarised. But FCB have already turned their focus to the upcoming tasks and their aims going forward. "We have a great chance to become league champions for the tenth time in a row. That's what we'll focus on and we'll throw everything into it," said CEO Oliver Kahn.
Reaction from the Bayern camp:
Oliver Kahn: "It's always disappointing when you concede a goal just before the end. We could have made it 2-0 before that. You can't blame the team. They put everything into it, tried everything in the second half. There are few less pleasant teams to play against. To crack this kind of defence, you need a lot of patience, you have to keep running. If there's one critique, it's that we didn't take advantage of one or two scoring opportunities and should have created one or two more chances. It just wasn't meant to be. The team threw everything in. We didn't lose the battle today. More commitment and will is hardly possible. Especially after the opening goal it was admirable how much patience the team had. Then we just didn't score the second goal, and so there is always the danger of conceding a goal. But we're not going to cry, we're going to go for it again next year in the Champions League. We have a great opportunity to become league champions for the tenth time in a row. No one has ever done that in Europe. We have a nine-point lead over Borussia Dortmund. That's what we'll focus on and throw everything into that."
Julian Nagelsmann: "The first leg was the key. We didn't play well there and lost the tie. Today we did well. Tactically but also from an intensity perspective we had one of our best games in the last few months. In the first half we had a great chance through Jamal. In the second, we have to make it 2-0 through Thomas. That was a 100 percent chance, you don't get those often. It's very tough to take."
Manuel Neuer: "On the whole, we didn't lose it today. Today we had four good opportunities. Unfortunately, we didn't score the second goal, that's all we lacked. We gave away a chance in the late stage. Essentially we had a very dominant performance. Everyone on the pitch gave everything for us to get through, including the fans in the stadium. That's why it's all the more tough to take."
Thomas Müller: "It's harsh conceding a goal despite the performance. We played a committed, good game, pressed from the start with the fans behind us. Maybe we have to pull ourselves up on the fact that we should have scored more than one. But conceding a goal was definitely not on the cards. At the end, Villarreal had one chance. If we just take the game today, then we clearly deserved to advance. If you take the game in Villarreal into account, we can be happy that we only lost 1-0 there. The fact that the game ended 1-1 was not dictated by the course of the game."
Reaction from Villarreal camp:
Unai Emery (Villarreal head coach): "It's a great feeling. It wasn't easy for us against Bayern. I am very happy. Today was an important and very good game from us. Bayern have great players, but we also brought our own strengths. We were not the favourites; we're a small club. Bayern are a team that often score several goals. But if you want to achieve something, you have to eliminate the favourites, which is what we did."
Raúl Albiol (Villarreal captain): "It's incredible to reach the semi-finals. I know how difficult it is to play against Bayern in this stadium and to advance here. I am full of joy. We will enjoy it until tomorrow and then we will work hard. We want to continue to improve and prepare for the semis. We are very happy for the fans. We put in a lot of work and everyone in Spain is very proud of us. The dream goes on."
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