FC Bayern warmed up for Paris Saint-Germain by reclaiming first place in the Bundesliga with a 2-1 victory at VfB Stuttgart. "We deserved to win in the end because we were the better team, but we had to stay switched on right until the last," opined Julian Nagelsmann. "It's a good feeling when you see Bayern top of the table at the end of the weekend," added Thomas Müller. fcbayern.com rounds up the rest of the reaction...
Reaction to the Stuttgart win...
Julian Nagelsmann: "The result is what matters most. Every point matters in our current situation. At 2-0 up, we failed to make the most of three or four good counter-attacks. We had the game under control, but when you concede so late the opponent throws everything at you in attack. We deserved to win in the end because we were the better team, but we had to stay switched on right until the last. On Wednesday, we have an extremely important game [against PSG]. When we combine our quality and intensity, we're very difficult to beat. A drop in our intensity levels runs the risk of letting the opposition back in."
Thomas Müller: "We're happy, we won and are top of the table again. That's what we came here to do. It's a good feeling when you see Bayern top at the end of the weekend. Tight games in the Bundesliga are to be expected. It was another good test ahead of Wednesday. That'll likely be a much closer affair, where every action can be decisive. We were on top, even though it wasn't exactly a polished performance."
Leon Goretzka: "Obviously you're happy to hear the whistle when you have a slender lead. We should've seen out the final minutes without the fuss. We're not happy about that, but the three points are what matter in the end. We want to stay on top, but regardless of that we go out there to win every game. Being top matters, and now we can look forward to Wednesday. It's a completely different game. It's important that we're ready."
Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting: "It was an important win for us, but it wasn't our best performance. There were a few things we need to improve. Stuttgart played at full throttle, but we didn't play badly and scored some nice goals. It was a little wild and close at the end. For me, the most important thing is to play well. I feel good and am happy to have signed an extension with Bayern."
Matthijs de Ligt: "I'm really happy we won. That was the most important thing today. It was hard going at the end, we didn't play well in the closing stages. We switched off and our intensity levels dropped. I thought I'd have a pop for the goal, and it came off. The focus is now on Paris. It's an important game for us."
Reaction from the Stuttgart camp
Bruno Labbadia (VfB Stuttgart head coach): "We played with courage. We wanted to put Bayern under pressure and did a good job of that in the first 15 minutes. We have to capitalise on that sort of thing. You always know Bayern's class will tell. We defended well, before conceding a stupid goal. With a bit of luck, we could have got a point."
Fabian Bredlow (VfB Stuttgart goalkeeper): "We started the game really well, and played well in general, but weren't rewarded with a result. Perhaps our goal came too late."
Waldemar Anton (VfB Stuttgart defender): "We showed a reaction to our last game - that was very important. With a bit of luck, we'd have got a point. We matched Bayern. We had chances late on. The reaction was important, the performance was what we wanted."
Read the match report below:
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