FC Bayern had to play with 10 men for 80 minutes of their Bundesliga meeting with Borussia Mönchengladbach, following Dayot Upamecano's early red card. Despite putting everything on the line at Borussia-Park, the record champions succumbed to a 3-2 defeat. "We could have settled matters before the red card. We had four clear-cut openings," commented head coach Julian Nagelsmann. "It's difficult with 10 men, we had to change a lot, the team had to run an incredible amount to close the spaces and compensate for being a man down," admitted goalkeeper Yann Sommer. fcbayern.com rounds up the reaction...
Reaction to the game in Mönchengladbach
Hasan Salihamidžić: "The team made a great start. If the red card hadn't happened, I think we'd have been talking about a superb performance from us. Of course, it's tough to take and annoying that the referee didn't review the incident because it decided the game. We had to get on with it and, despite being down to 10 men, still tried to be the better team and control the game. We didn't do that, though."
Julian Nagelsmann: "We could have settled matters before the red card. We had four clear-cut openings. If we're more clinical with those, we go 2-0 or 3-0 up. We started well and created some great openings, but the final ball was lacking. Obviously, it was an early red card and made life difficult, but we did well to get back into the game. They went 2-1 up at a point when we were in charge, despite the man disadvantage. It was tough after that - we were also feeling it towards the end after the game in Paris."
Joshua Kimmich: "Clearly, the red card changed the game. When you're down to 10 men for 80 minutes, it's always going to be tough. Even then, we still had one or two chances. I don't think we should be going home empty-handed. We stood up well to them, it was a balanced game. We made a good start up until the red card and started well after the break. The third goal was tough to take, it was difficult for us after that."
Yann Sommer: Obviously, the game turned on the red card. It was a harsh decision, but there's no point talking about it. It's difficult with 10 men, we had to change a lot, the team had to run an incredible amount to close the spaces and compensate for being a man down. It's a setback we have to deal with. Pretty much everything went against us. We have to analyse the game and look forward. Next we have a top-of-the-table clash at the Allianz Arena [against Union Berlin]."
Reaction from the Gladbach camp
Daniel Farke (Borussia Mönchengladbach head coach): "The boys put in an exceptional performance, I'm very happy. It's a good day for us, we've picked up an important win. That's really good for us. Hats off to the boys. Bayern started well, so it was important to dig our heels in and play with courage. That's what we did."
Lars Stindl (Borussia Mönchengladbach captain): "We're just delighted to have won. We set ourselves a lot of goals, and of course the red card played into our hands. We were able to translate the courage we wanted to show into our performance on the pitch, and convert the quality we have into goals. Bayern's positional play was good, too, even though they were a man down."
Jonas Hofmann (Borussia Mönchengladbach): "It's crazy what we seem to be capable of against Bayern. Of course, there's that added motivation to perform against the top teams. We had a man advantage, but Bayern still had a lot of possession because they have such good individual quality. We won 3-2, which is just phenomenal."
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