FC Bayern produced a convincing performance in a thrilling top-of-the-table match against Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday evening. Despite FCB’s clear superiority, this Bundesliga heavyweight clash ended in a 1-1 draw. “We deserved more as we were clearly the better team and had more chances,” said Bayern captain Manuel Neuer. “It’s a draw, but the way in which we went about it was very impressive," said board member for sport Max Eberl, expressing his satisfaction with the team’s performance. "It’s also a good sign. We showed today that we can respond well to going behind." fcbayern.com has all the post-match reaction.
Reaction to the Leverkusen match
Jan-Christian Dreesen (CEO): “We played a very good game, conceded very few chances and had several of our own. At the end of the day, we were a bit unlucky not to have emerged winners. But the lads can be pleased. It was important that we managed to respond so quickly after conceding the goal. That was an insane strike from Aleks. That shows what this team is all about, that they just keep going.”
Max Eberl (board member for sport): “We put down a marker today in the manner in which we played. You could clearly see that we wanted to win. In the end though, we lacked that little edge in our finishing. It’s a draw, but the way in which we went about it was very impressive. It’s also a good sign. We showed today that we can respond well to going behind. Vincent Kompany doesn’t feign the importance of every game; whether against Leverkusen or Kiel, he prepares his team in the same way regardless. And the team can sense that. We want to win every game if possible, and he exemplifies that every day. We will need all our players as the season is very long.”
Christoph Freund (sporting director): “The performance was really good. Our game was strong and we dominated Leverkusen. Of course, the way the game panned out was unlucky, with us going behind from their first shot on goal. But we reacted very well and then were really in control of the match. We won the ball a lot in their defensive third and gave away almost nothing. In the end it was a very good performance, even if we’re not satisfied with the result. But that’s football.”
Vincent Kompany: “As the coach of FC Bayern you always want to win at home. The game went the way we would have wanted. What’s important is that we keep pushing and trust that we will win many games this way. The pressing was good, as was the way in which we came from behind, fought for every second ball and created chances. Leverkusen did very well defensively. It was a top match. There are always a couple things that we can improve upon. We had several good chances. It’s a shame that we didn’t win but we’ll keep going, there are still so many games.”
Manuel Neuer: “We deserved more as we were clearly the better team and had more chances. The goal we conceded was annoying. Leverkusen don’t play just one way; they have players who are strong from set pieces and you can’t defend everything. But we pressed, had more chances and deserved to win.”
Serge Gnabry: “It’s a shame that neither of my two shots went in. We played against a really top opponent and we can be pleased with our performance; we had it under control for the most part. It was great that we came back from going 1-0 behind, but it’s a shame that we didn’t manage to get the win in the end.”
Aleksandar Pavlović: “We had a lot of chances but didn’t get the reward in the end, perhaps because we just lacked that final ball or finish in front of goal. We can be pleased with our performance; we dominated the entire game. Leverkusen only had two shots. With the pass before the corner, I wanted to play it to Manu but the ball bounced awkwardly again. But then we had to defend the corner better. We motivated each other, stayed positive, kept pushing and then I got my goal. I just thought, I'll have a go. And it worked out pretty well. I was really pleased to have equalised and to have got us back in the game. Things are going in a positive direction for us at the moment. We'll work even harder and just keep going."
Reaction from the Leverkusen camp
Xabi Alonso (Bayer 04 Leverkusen coach): “You have to be very disciplined against Bayern. We had a bit of trouble on the ball. It was important that we stayed focused over the course of the entire game. We let them have very few things and played seriously. I am happy with the point."
Granit Xhaka (Bayer 04 Leverkusen): “The aim was to stay compact and not give away too much against strong opposition. Defensively it was a good performance from us. Going forward we could have done more. Bayern have dangerous players, so we did very well. We know that we could have done more with the ball. We’ll happily take the 1-1 though.”
Robert Andrich (Bayer 04 Leverkusen): “Bayern are very good at the moment and it’s never easy at the Allianz Arena. We defended deep and only let them in when we were caught napping. It wasn't our best display with the ball, we wanted a bit more.”
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