Stuttgart post-match reaction - Vincent Kompany: 'We showed character'

FC Bayern gave themselves a belated birthday present on Friday evening! One day after the club's 125th anniversary, the Bavarians had more cause for celebration as they beat southern rivals VfB Stuttgart 3-1 despite falling behind. Those involved were naturally in high spirits after the match. "That was a top match tonight, a real German top match, and it's never easy away at Stuttgart," summarised head coach Vincent Kompany. Sporting director Christoph Freund added: "It's just fun to watch this team – especially because of their mentality. Today was a nice evening." fcbayern.com has compiled the rest of the post-match reaction.

The reaction to the match at Stuttgart

Christoph Freund (sporting director): "We deserved to win. It was far from an easy game, Stuttgart played really well. We took a while to get going in the first 20, 25 minutes, and weren't quite getting to the second balls. But the longer the game went on, the better we got. We're concentrating on ourselves and want to win our games. It's just fun to watch this team – especially because of their mentality. It was a tough away match but in the end we collected three very important points. Today was a nice evening."

Vincent Kompany: "That was a top match tonight, a real German top match, and it's never easy away at Stuttgart. I enjoyed this win because Stuttgart were better than us at the start of the game. Then we got that huge chance in the first half, though. We grew into the game and we were a threat throughout the second half. That's how these games go sometimes. We defended strongly at the end and showed a lot of character, which you can win with. Obviously it's our aim to win trophies, but we just want to always be strong. The most important thing is that we continue on this path and have trust in what we're doing."

Manuel Neuer: "It's not easy when you're 1-0 down, but we kept going and believed in ourselves. Thankfully we got the goal just before half-time, then you go into the dressing room with a different feeling. We believed we could turn the game around. We worked for that as a team. We knew it wouldn't be an easy task – maybe we didn't always choose the right option, but essentially it was important to go into the duels and win them. We go into the match against Leverkusen positively, we've now beaten Frankfurt 4-0 and won 3-1 in Stuttgart. You can't ask for better. What awaits us in the Champions League is a different calibre, but we're looking forward to the games and will approach them positively."

Leon Goretzka: "It was hard work, we didn't start the game well. But we were already prepared for the fact that Stuttgart might not be able to sustain the tempo that they showed without the ball in the first half and at the second balls for 90 minutes. We stayed calm and still had our moments in the first half. We were much better in the second half, especially at the second balls. We got more into the game as time went on and deserved to win in the end."

Kingsley Coman: "I'm very proud. I also saw how the coach celebrated with us. It was very important for us. It wasn't easy at the beginning but then we got better, had a lot of confidence. We've had a lot of difficult games lately and we've won almost all of them. Now we're ready for the Champions League."

Josip Stanišić: "We were hungry until the end and were determined to win the game. Stuttgart were a little bit better in the first half but we also had good chances. We believed and battled until the end. Stuttgart dropped off a bit in the second half. You always go from one game into the next with a certain feeling. We know we can play slightly better but it's important to know that even when we're behind against a good team, we can go up a gear and come back."

The reaction from the Stuttgart camp

Sebastian Hoeneß (coach): "You could certainly say that we gifted the victory when you look at the goals. That said, we also did a lot of things right. However, to get a result against Bayern you can't give them gifts like that. We created a decent number of chances, a decent number of situations in the final third. The way the game turned out is frustrating. The goal just before half-time was obviously a blow. I think it would've been quite fair if we'd gone in at half-time in front, which obviously would've helped us for the second half. Instead it was a different picture in the second half, especially as Bayern came out stronger."

Alexander Nübel (goalkeeper): "We played really well in the first half but then conceded the equaliser just before the break – that really hurt. At the end of the day, we lost because we simply made too many mistakes. Aside from that, you can't fault the team much. We played very well until the end, as you can against Bayern. That's why the defeat today is very painful."

Angelo Stiller (midfielder): "I think we're making it very easy for opponents to score goals at the moment. Basically it was a good performance from us today, but then we made it too easy for Bayern. It wasn't necessary."

The match report