FC Bayern beat St. Pauli 3-2 at the Allianz Arena on Saturday afternoon to maintain their six-point advantage over Leverkusen, who had beaten Bochum 3-1 on Friday. “We could have made it four earlier, but at the end of the day it’s the three points that count,” summarised Christoph Freund. Leroy Sané added: “We’re all glad we took the three points at home.” fcbayern.com has all the reaction to the game.
Reaction to Bayern v St. Pauli
Christoph Freund (sporting director): “Of course the three points are very important. We didn’t play particularly well in the first half, we allowed a few chances. We did a better job after half-time and created many chances – at the end of the day it was a deserved victory. We unnecessarily made it exciting again because we conceded a goal and were a man down due to Hiroki Ito’s injury. We could have made it four earlier, but at the end of the day it’s the three points that count. After an international break it’s important to get back into it.”
Vincent Kompany: “St. Pauli have been well-organised throughout the entire season. They concede few goals and allow few chances. In the first half we allowed them a lot, but in the second half in particular we created good chances. Taken altogether I’m satisfied with the result and our performance. But Hiroki Ito’s injury dampens the result of course.”
Leroy Sané: “It was a bit tight towards the end because we were reduced to ten men. Taken altogether it was a very good display after an international break. We’re all glad we took the three points at home. We must give it 100 percent in every match and win our games. I think it helps regarding our rhythm. We know we must be focused and mustn’t squander points.”
Jonas Urbig: “I had very little time to think, but I felt very much at ease from the start because the team welcomed me very well. I was able to focus on my performance in training from the start.”
Reaction from the St. Pauli camp
Alexander Blessin (head coach): “Of course we had ambitious goals, we wanted to be bold. We managed to put that into practice for large spells. To be honest, it’s even more annoying we made it so easy for them when we conceded the goals. We still had good moments again and again, we played vertically with few passes. I think a bit more would have been possible today, but we would have needed a bit of luck. We can build on the performance, but we can’t be satisfied.”
Jackson Irvine (midfielder): “If you give top players as much space as we did when we conceded the two goals, it’ll be difficult of course. But the lads fought until the end, pulled one back and upped the pressure. But at the end of the day it just wasn’t enough today.”
Elias Saad (forward): “I think the difference was that Bayern didn’t give anything away and we did. You just see the difference between the teams on an individual level. We did a very good job, but if you’re asleep once or twice, Bayern will punish it.”
The match report:
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