Reaction to Köln match - Serge Gnabry: 'Important win against tricky opponents'

A display of character and a perfect finish to the first half of the Bundesliga season. FC Bayern set a new record after 17 matchdays in their away victory at 1. FC Köln, coming from 1-0 down to win 3-1. “At the moment we’re managing to find our way back into the game after setbacks and stay true to our play,” summarised Serge Gnabry, scorer of the equaliser at 1-1. “We knew if we remained patient and played our game, the spaces would open up eventually. Then we deservedly won.” Coach Vincent Kompany commented: “We accept the record, I congratulate the boys. But the second half of the season begins tomorrow, then we go again.” fcbayern.com has rounded up all the post-match reaction for you.

Reaction to the match at Köln

Vincent Kompany: “Köln were full of energy, uncomfortable from start to finish. I’m very pleased with my team’s performance. We created chances from different situations to what we’re used to. It’s very important to me that we can also be a threat out of defence. It’s an inner conflict with my mentality that we’re celebrating a record in the middle of the season. There’s no title yet, but it is credit to the players. We accept the record, I congratulate the boys. But the second half of the season begins tomorrow, then we go again. The first half of the season is over and now we want to win the second half. Konny Laimer felt something in his calf – we’ll know more on that tomorrow. We have a team who prepare the set pieces. Like every side, we also try to be dangerous from set plays.”

Manuel Neuer: “Playing in Cologne in January is no picnic. When you then go 1-0 down, you have to dig in and fight. We earned that here. Eventually the gaps opened up, we got the chances and took them. We have a certain confidence and a plan for how we want to play. We believe in ourselves, which is the most important thing. It’s going to be a tough match at Leipzig on Saturday. We’ll have to give everything to get a good result.”

Serge Gnabry: “It feels very good. The coach just said to us that we’ve achieved the record at the halfway mark. That obviously makes it feel even better. It was a very important win against tricky opponents. We weren’t surprised, we already played here in the cup. It was a very similar game. Köln tried to bring in a lot of rotation to get us out of position. Then they take the lead and you have the atmosphere here on top of that. However, we knew if we remained patient and played our game, the spaces would open up eventually. Then we deservedly won. At the moment we’re managing to find our way back into the game after setbacks and stay true to our play.”

Leon Goretzka: “We were to blame for the first half not going as well. We were very untidy in our play. The spaces were already there in the first half. When we started to utilise them better, we also created a lot of good chances.”

Jonathan Tah: “Köln did well, as they did in the cup game. It’s a hard-earned win. It was clear that it wasn’t going to be an easy game. We had one or two opportunities in the first half. In the second half we were maybe a bit tidier on the ball, and as a result created more chances, which then led to it working out in the end.”

Reaction from Köln

Lukas Kwasniok (head coach): “You only have a chance against Bayern if you run more than them, but they’re so hardworking that it’s almost impossible. We did that for large periods in the cup game, and again today in the first half we ran more – that’s the only way because technically they’re just superior. Our problem was that we didn’t make the most of the turnovers. In the end, Bayern decided the game with their individual quality. Not everyone can score a goal like they did to equalise. Harry Kane is an exceptional player, certainly the best all-rounder in Europe at the moment.”

Marvin Schwäbe (goalkeeper): “We were in the game for a long time. We needed to make better use of one or two counter-attacks that we had. Overall we put up a good fight. It was a good atmosphere, we were pushed from front to back – even now at the end. We’ve lost 3-1 but the fans still recognised the fact we battled from the first minute to the last. And I think that’s what it’s about.”

Linton Maina (midfielder): “It actually felt quite good. We’ll have to watch it again. It’s often the case against Bayern that you think you could’ve got more out of it. At the same time, you have to be honest and say that their individual quality is just outstanding. You have to be alert for 95 minutes.”

The match report: