Reaction to Bundesliga game at Elversberg – Harry Kane: ‘Happy about the win’

Bayern came away with three points from their first-ever meeting with Elversberg on Sunday thanks to a 2-1 away victory on Bundesliga Matchday 3. “We played against a tough opponent and are happy with the three points,” summarised Vincent Kompany after the final whistle. Harry Kane, whose winning goal saw him voted Man of the Match, added, “They were three important points. It’s not easy to play here. Elversberg are a good team, so we’re happy about the win.” fcbayern.com rounds up the reaction from the game.

Reaction to Bundesliga game away at Elversberg

Max Eberl (board member for sport): “The most important thing in the end is that we won. Respect to Elversberg. They play bravely, don’t get ruffled and are always a threat. The lesson for us that we won but also that we can be dangerous with a little less. You need to be at 100 percent in every game. We were a bit too contained after going ahead, but we then had to come out after 1-1. I think several teams will struggle here.”

Vincent Kompany: “It all counts – not just the three points, although that was obviously the priority for us today. Our tempo today wasn’t good. We weren’t there in the duels like we normally are. With the Schalke and Bodø games, you still sensed that dominance and saw good pressing and counter-pressing. Elversberg did well in all areas. They were very brave on the ball. The role of the goalkeeper was maybe also a bit different than with other teams. Obviously we had our moments and could’ve scored more goals, but on the whole we played against a tough opponent and are happy with the three points.”

Harry Kane: “That’s football. Sometimes you need to wait a bit longer than you wanted. But it was nice to score a goal today and contribute to the win. They were three important points. It’s not easy to play here. Elversberg are a good team, so we’re happy about the win. We talk a lot about our squad. At the moment, we’re all fit and healthy, which has a big impact on the team. We’ve got lots of matches in a short space of time. With our style of play and our intensity, it’s important to have fresh players. It doesn’t matter who starts or comes off the bench – everyone needs to be ready to give 110 percent. You saw that today when the guys came on. We had more energy, were more direct in our one-v-ones and in the end had many more opportunities.”

Lennart Karl: “The win was very important. Elversberg didn’t make it easy. It was a very difficult game, but we had lots of chances. It was definitely an important win for us and the feeling in general for the coming weeks.”

Aleksandar Pavlović: “Elversberg didn’t do a bad job. We had to do better in the first half in particular, but I think we did much better in the second. Elversberg’s goal was also good. It was important for us to keep going and play our game. At the moment we’re making good movement and always making those runs. I also did that against Schalke. I’m happy I was able to play the ball to Harry and we can take the three points back home with us.”

Jonas Urbig: “We’ve got three points, which is what counts. We struggled in the first half. We had lots of good chances in the second and managed to win it. I think lots of teams will struggle here, so we’re happy about the three points.”

Reaction from Elversberg

Vincent Wagner (head coach): “For us, it’s always about the ‘how’. And I think the ‘how’ was actually fine. Although I did feel that before half-time, when things were getting a bit tense, we made two rather subtle attempts to shoot ourselves in the foot by losing the ball in build-up. Otherwise, we actually did quite well. And in the two moments we had, we couldn’t find the pass. Then Bayern started to get a bit serious. If you know anything about football, you know that Bayern could have stepped it up a gear or two. But at least we were in the game. When we had the ball, I think we were quite bold. There were phases where we didn’t play badly. Things improved, particularly in the second half, although Bayern did better than us – you have to give them that.”

Maurice Krattenmacher (midfielder): “Obviously we wanted to play as well as possible. I think we did that, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough in the end. I take things one game at a time. I try to win as many points as possible with the team. Personal success is obviously nice, but the goal is to win as many points as possible with the team.”

Maximilian Rohr (defender): “We may have lost, but I’m just so happy to have played against a team like that. I think we also did quite well. In the end you see that individual quality. We can be proud of our performance. We have our system and I don’t think you can prevent things getting a bit wilder after a goal like that. But even after going 2-1 down, we still have a chance for 2-2. If we’d scored that, we probably would’ve shut up shop at the back. But still, we can go into the next game with positivity.”

Read more about the game in our report: