Wolfsburg match reaction

Julian Nagelsmann: I’ve had more nerve-wracking experiences in my life - because despite the pressure we defended extremely well. We were expecting it and we only gave them one real chance in the end. We didn’t let the early goal change our game plan and continued to keep the spaces tight. A second goal certainly wouldn’t have hurt, no doubt about that, but we’ll take just the one. The fans were fantastic today. Russell Canouse earned himself an appearance today, I’m very happy for him. If we continue to give as much as we did today I have no doubt that we will remain in the Bundesliga. We need to keep this up until the very last matchday. Our fighting spirit was incredible - football-wise we struggled in the second half. But the three points are what matters.

Dieter Hecking: Hoffenheim deserved to take the three points. We were poor today and went into the game very lethargically. We weren’t alert and Hoffenheim took advantage of that early on and scored. After that, our passing game was very sloppy which allowed Hoffenheim to win back possession quite easily and stopped us finding our rhythm. Koen Casteels kept us in the game with the penalty save but we failed to create any chances after that. 

Oliver Baumann: The game got quite ugly towards the end. We were well in the game to start with and didn’t give the opposition much. Towards the end we gave the ball away a few too many times and couldn’t really relieve the pressure. We showed good character to shake off the disappointment of having missed the penalty. That can happen, but we are a team and we fight for each other. Today, we got the job done, that’s all that matters. No need to praise me for the save at the end - that's what I’m here for. 

Andrej Kramaric: It was a perfect moment: the pass from Kevin was perfect; I took it in my stride well and caught it perfectly. It’s always good to take the lead early on. We took the game to Wolfsburg and took the three important points. We need to carry on in exactly the same way to get ourselves out of trouble and stay in the division.

Kevin Volland: I put away my last two penalties, today it didn’t work out. On the whole we were very solid today and played with real passion. I could have put the game to bed earlier, of course, then it would have been less tense at the end. 

Klaus Allofs: Hoffenheim are fighting for survival in the league - that was obvious today. We gifted TSG the first goal. The team was very tired and we never really got into the game. This game was more important for us than the next game in the Champions League.

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