Reaction to top-of-the-table clash at BVB - Joshua Kimmich: 'We’re not going to surrender this'

FC Bayern are celebrating a crucial battling win in a hard-fought top-of-the-table clash at Borussia Dortmund! After an intensive 90 minutes, Vincent Kompany’s men ran out 3-2 winners. As such, the players and management were delighted after the game. “At the end it was about mentality and team spirit, and we showed them on the pitch,” summarised Jonathan Tah at full time. Meanwhile, Joshua Kimmich underlined the importance of the three points in the title race. “It’s in our hands and we’re not going to give it away now. If we’re being honest, with an 11-point lead now, we’re not going to surrender this.” fcbayern.com has gathered the rest of the post-match reaction for you.

Reaction to the match at Dortmund

Vincent Kompany: “It was extreme today. You could tell that Dortmund desperately wanted to seize their opportunity. We felt that over the whole 90 minutes. Even at 2-2, they kept coming forward and wanted to win. But our guys didn’t just stand back either. We kept trying to find our moments. It was a good advert for the Bundesliga in my opinion – with intensity, goals, and above all that absolute desire of both teams to keep getting forward and to want to win the game.”

Harry Kane: “It was a big game in the season, playing away against such a strong team. To come back and then show the character and quality that we did in the second half says a lot about us as a team. We can enjoy this today and then turn our attention to next week. There are periods in a season when a lot of things fall at your feet and go your way, and that’s exactly what I’m in at the moment. I just have to continue as I have up to now. We had an 11-point lead a few weeks ago and saw how quickly that can change with two results. We need to stay focused. It was obviously a big game, an important momentum booster for us with these 11 points. We’re in a good position but it's often easier to motivate yourself for these top matches. You have to be just as focused and ready to fight in the other games, and that’ll be no different on Friday night.”

Joshua Kimmich: “It’s in our hands and we’re not going to give it away now. If we’re being honest, with an 11-point lead now, we’re not going to surrender this. No one has ever squandered that and it will stay that way. In the end today, the mentality was decisive. We struggled for a long time. It was a very physical game, very scrappy in the first half with a lot of breaks, set pieces and fouls. No real rhythm emerged. It was a bit more fluid in the second period. It was also clear to us at the break that it’d be difficult for Dortmund to keep up the tempo for 90 minutes. They’ve had a tough couple of weeks with a lot of matches, which we haven’t, so we knew: the longer the game goes on, the greater our advantage. Thankfully we pressed that home right at the end.”

Jonathan Tah: “We obviously want to keep winning our games, but we knew how significant this game today was for us. That’s why we were determined to win it. Now we keep going and won’t stop. It was hard work. I think it was a very passionate game, both teams threw everything at it. I felt that there were lots of little mistakes on both sides, which encouraged the other team. At the end it was about mentality and team spirit, and we showed them on the pitch. We just kept going.”

Aleksandar Pavlović: “Everyone’s pleased with the win, me personally too. It was a very important game, a very important win, and we’re delighted about it. It’s a very special match in a special atmosphere. The first half wasn’t easy, everyone saw that. We found it difficult to create clear chances. That worked out much better in the second half. We did a lot more going forward, won a lot of second balls and deserved to win in the end.”

Reaction from the Dortmund camp

Niko Kovač (coach): “After the game at Atalanta, that was a really good performance today. The team battled strongly and really deserve credit. On the other side you have FC Bayern Munich. When you watch the first goal alone, the way Josh finds Serge, how he then sets it up, that’s world class. In the end that’s the difference, which was also evident today. Nevertheless, I want to expressly give credit to my team. I’ve also said that to them already, because they fought with everything they had today. Bayern had to really stretch to come away as winners here. With a bit of luck, you maybe get a draw from a game like that. In the end it's that little bit of quality, from Joshua Kimmich for example, that makes the difference.”

Gregor Kobel (goalkeeper): “You have to say, Bayern showed extreme quality in front of goal and converted their chances really well. We put up a great fight. We gave everything, tried to get the fans behind us, be physical and make it extremely difficult for them. And for much of the game we succeeded in that. But in the end, they were just very, very good in front of goal. It's immensely frustrating and hurts a lot. In terms of the performance, it was a reaction to Atalanta. Nevertheless, we're standing here on the losing team. That wasn’t our aim.”

Nico Schlotterbeck (centre-back): “It was an all-in game for us, you saw that. You can’t accuse us of not doing enough. We tried everything but unfortunately didn't pull it off today. It comes down to nuances and effectiveness. At the end of the day, Bayern just scored one goal more.”

Lukas Nmecha (midfielder): “It’s annoying to lose a game like that. Bayern controlled a lot, we gave it everything. I’m proud of our team. There's nothing more to say. It was a really awesome game, and obviously it hurts even more when you're so close to at least getting a point. When you're 1-0 up, you obviously want to see it out and win. Unfortunately we didn't manage that. But like I said, I'm proud of the attitude we showed.”

The match report: