What a passionate fight! FC Bayern beat St. Pauli 3-1 thanks to two added-time goals on Saturday to extend their lead in the table. Andreas Hountondji put the men from Hamburg in front early on (6’) and Raphaël Guerreiro levelled the scored before half-time (44’). The fans at the Allianz Arena saw one-way traffic after the restart – and Bayern celebrated after the final whistle. Luis Díaz found the net after 92 minutes before Nicolas Jackson put the game to bed (90’+6).
President Herbert Hainer praised the German record champions’ fighting spirit: “I’m really glad we won and that the team didn’t give up until the end.” Captain Manuel Neuer too stressed the tireless determination that forced the victory in the closing stages: “We always believe we can score until the last minute.” fcbayern.com rounds up the reaction to the game.
Reaction to Bayern v St. Pauli
President Herbert Hainer: “It was a tough match, we had to fight for a long time, but that shows the team’s morale and that they believe in themselves and can turn things around in the end. We had a tough game against Arsenal on Wednesday, which showed of course. But I’m really glad we won and that the team didn’t give up until the end.”
Sporting director Christoph Freund: “It was a hard piece of work of course, St. Pauli did a good job and got off to a perfect start when they opened. We were in control but didn’t create so many clear-cut chances. It was a really intense match until the end. But at the end of the day it was a superb victory we sealed in added time, it gives us a whole lot of energy and shows the team’s character. I love such victories.”
Vincent Kompany: “It wasn’t easy today. We’ve extended our lead by two points. Such victories are part of a season, it gives us confidence. A huge compliment to the lads, we always carry on. We’ll need the feeling this season.”
Manuel Neuer: “We always believe we can score until the last minute. You saw that in the closing stages, we scored two more goals and won deservedly. I saw from the back that space was extremely tight in midfield. They played well and aggressively, especially with their back five. We often had to play directly and take more risks. We did find space, but luck wasn’t necessarily on our side considering how often we hit the woodwork.”
Reaction from St. Pauli
Alexander Blessin (head coach): “We knew we needed a bit of luck – three shots off the post prove that. But we can’t defend everything all the time. Then there’s a cross and we were caught off guard once. It’s not about the result, it’s about how we play. We were bold. We have to build on that in the next few weeks. Everyone left their hearts on the pitch. Football can be terrible, but we have to keep going.”
Lars Ritzka (defender): “We knew you need a lot of luck and a very good day to take something away from here. Our plan was clear from the start: fight for every ball and support one another. It worked out well, but in the end it just wasn’t enough. We’re very disappointed right after the match, but we can take many positive things away: how compact we were in defence, that we were there for each other and that there was always a teammate to support you. That’s the only way to get out of the situation – and I’m convinced we’ll keep playing like that and take points again.”
Hauke Wahl (defender): “The hardest thing against Bayern is to stay focused and to get every move right despite their possession. That’s their great quality: if you take one wrong step, they sense it immediately and exploit the space. We had to play at an extremely high tactical level, and I think we did a really good job for long spells – but unfortunately, it wasn’t enough in the end.”
The match report:
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