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Match-winner Lennart Karl called it “something very, very special,” and that’s what Bayern’s last-minute victory over SC Freiburg was. Three days before the Champions League cracker at Real Madrid, Bayern were two goals behind, but two-goal Tom Bischof and new Germany international Lennart Karl, who scored eight minutes into added time, turned the tide and sent the away fans at the Europa-Park-Stadion into raptures. “We were a bit lucky, but we absolutely wanted it after the equaliser – it was awesome,” Bischof stressed after the match. Head coach Vincent Kompany was pleased and impressed by his team’s mentality: “I’m in a great mood after the three points because I knew how difficult it would be.” fcbayern.com rounds up the reaction to the 3-2 victory.
Reaction to Freiburg v Bayern
Board member for sport Max Eberl: “The feeling couldn’t be any more positive ahead of the trip to Madrid. We knew it would be very, very difficult at Freiburg. They deserved to lead by two goals, but the way our team played then and wanted to win – that’s true spirit, so it was a very nice win today. You could feel in the stands we didn’t want to lose.”
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Vincent Kompany: “We got off to a good start, we sometimes found space in the first part of the first half but couldn’t finish. After that, we have to give credit to our opponents, they went full throttle. Maybe we turned things around because they’d spent so much energy. That’s just part of football: Not every victory is champagne football and winning 3-0 or 4-0. There’s no successful season without these emotional experiences. I’m in a great mood after the three points because I knew how difficult it would be.”
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Tom Bischof: “The first half was brutal, we knew they’d give us a hard time. Their play is similar to ours, man-to-man. They chased us across the pitch, it was very intense. They scored both goals in the second half, but we wouldn’t be Bayern if we didn’t always believe in ourselves. We were a bit lucky, but we absolutely wanted it after the equaliser – it was awesome. Such a match is perfect ahead of the one against Real. We’re seeing what a team we are. We stick together, that really binds us together. It’s clear it’ll be a different match. Real are on another level, we must up the ante. It’s my dream to play such a game, I’m really looking forward to it. It’s a cracker, it’ll be intense, and I hope we’ll come out on top.”
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Lennart Karl: “Luckily my right foot did its job, and then it was an incredible feeling. I felt the whole time I’d score. Of course it was incredible that it actually worked. It gives us a huge boost of confidence, we can beat anyone! It was a crucial victory, something very, very special – that’s what we just said in the dressing room. This week is very special for me with my first senior appearance for Germany and a goal and an assist here.”
Reaction from SC Freiburg
Julian Schuster (head coach): “I can’t blame the team for much, I have to praise them for a lot of things. It was a very good performance. It’s clear Bayern can up the ante towards the end. It’s very hard to withstand this pressure.”
Lucas Höler (forward): “It was very, very disappointing today. I’ve been at the club for a long time and have never experienced a match where we played like this against Bayern. We were two goals up, we were still 2-1 up after 90 minutes but lost in the end. It’s extremely bitter. Matches against Bayern are extremely intense. You have to be bold, we pressed high the whole time. We had to put in a lot more legwork. It was clear we’d run out of steam. Everybody knows about Bayern’s quality, they’re among the best teams in Europe. That’s Bayern: they always keep going until the end. It’s disappointing and bitter for us. Still, I’m incredibly proud of us. We have to keep going now, we take away that we can stand our ground against any opponents. It can give us a huge boost.”
The match report:
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