Bayern are going into the international break in good spirits! On Saturday evening, the men in red beat 1. FC Heidenheim 4-2 at the Allianz Arena. Players, coach, and club officials were understandably happy. “It was a deserved victory and we’re happy to enter the international break this way,” commented sporting director Christoph Freund. Head coach Thomas Tuchel added: “I’m extremely happy about the three points. The players deserve praise, they pulled themselves together and showed great willpower following the equaliser.” fcbayern.com rounds up the post-match reaction.
Reaction to the meeting with Heidenheim
Christoph Freund: “In the end it was a deserved win and we’re happy to enter the international break this way. It was unnecessary to give away a two-goal lead. But our reaction was very good. We switched into a higher gear and deserved to win. It was a controlled first half with two goals. We didn't give up many chances. In the first 20 minutes of the second half, we didn't settle down very well. Then we conceded two unnecessary goals. Afterwards, we picked up the tempo. We’re always capable of scoring goals and today we again produced four.”
Thomas Tuchel: “We knew it wouldn't be easy at the end of such an emotional week. Mentally and physically we weren't at our freshest, and we had to make several changes. I’m extremely happy about the three points. The first half was okay and we went into the half-time break with a 2-0 lead. We weren't fresh enough to decide the game with a third goal. I'm glad we were able to add energy, a hunger for goals, and speed from the bench. In the end, that's how we recorded the win. The players deserve praise, they pulled themselves together and showed great willpower following the equaliser. Congratulations to Heidenheim. What Frank has achieved there in the past 16 years is just crazy.”
Harry Kane: “We started well and took a two-goal lead. Unfortunately, we then quickly conceded two goals, but the team's reaction was fantastic. We switched into a higher gear. It's good the game ended this way. At the end of the season, nobody will remember this win, but you have to decide these kind of games in your favour.”
Reaction from the Heidenheim camp
Frank Schmidt (Heidenheim coach): “We had three objectives today, three promises. We had to play at the limit in defence, we wanted to play forward courageously, use our counter-attacking opportunities and play for the team. And we did that. I wanted us to be proud of our performance and we succeeded at that. With a little more luck, vision and concentration in the second half we might even have achieved more.”
Tim Kleindienst (Heidenheim striker): “We used the Dortmund game as an example. That was similar. We were down by two goals as well and that was just as unnecessary as it was today. We could have easily avoided the first two goals. We wanted to go out there and be able to say that we gave a good performance and not get taken apart. We achieved that. We managed to keep up well. In the end, it's bitter anyway because we travel home without a point.”
Jan-Niklas Beste (Heidenheim midfielder): “We conceded the third right after we equalized. To an extent, that was the crucial blow. If we had held out at 2-2 for longer, the game might have evolved differently. Obviously, towards the end you could see Bayern’s quality very clearly. We told ourselves at half-time that we had nothing more to lose, like we did at Dortmund.”
The match report:
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