Successful dress rehearsal for FC Bayern! On Tuesday evening, FC Bayern won 2-1 against Grasshopper Club Zürich in their final preseason friendly before Saturday’s Franz Beckenbauer Supercup against cup winners VfB Stuttgart. “Integrating the new players, getting our plan sorted and bringing our footballing philosophy onto the pitch – that was the goal. And I think we're on the right track to be ready on Saturday,” Konrad Laimer summed up after the summer preparations. fcbayern.com has compiled the reaction to the game.
Reaction to the pre-season friendly against Grasshopper Club Zürich
Christoph Freund (sporting director, before the game): "This pre-season has been very, very short, so it's important to make the most of every day. Grasshoppers have already started their league campaign, have played three league games and are fully immersed in the competition. But we've performed well so far, the mechanisms are working, and we feel well prepared. The youngsters are a lot of fun; they were already in America for the Club World Cup. They are very down-to-earth and really go for it. It's great fun to watch them – and last time out, they weren't just playing any opponent, but Tottenham. We're going to have a lot of fun with them."
Konrad Laimer: "Ultimately, you always want to win games. It doesn't matter whether it's a friendly or a competitive match. We’ve had a short preparation period, but our mindset was clear from the start: for us, there are no friendly matches. We approach every game as if it were a Bundesliga or Champions League match. That’s how we did it today. We’ve tried to get as much out of the short preparation period as possible so that we’re at our best on Saturday. We tried to get as physically fit as possible, train specific aspects and use pre-season friendlies to build up our fitness. Integrating the new players, getting our plan sorted and bringing our footballing philosophy onto the pitch – that was the goal. And I think we're on the right track to being ready on Saturday."
Lennart Karl: “I'm one of the youngest players, but I feel really comfortable in the team. The guys have taken me in as well as I can ask. I can show my strengths and work on my weaknesses. Everything went well again today – the goal, the assist and overall it was a very, very good game. As an academy player, I want to lead the way, show my strengths and continue to develop. I would be delighted to play in Bundesliga matches or even bigger games. Everything went well in the pre-season matches, but now I want to get game time in the Super Cup against Stuttgart or in the Bundesliga. I'm working very hard for that and I hope it works out."
Read about the action in Zurich in the match report:
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