Schalke match reaction

Julian Nagelsmann: After conceding an early goal we really got into the game. We weren’t getting far enough down the wings at times, so we didn’t get that many clear-cut chances. We created the equalising goal really well over six or seven different stages and a very good cross at the end of it. For the second goal, we did well to win the ball back and went in at half-time in the lead. It was clear that Schalke would push harder for the equaliser in the second half. As a result we were able to find more space. Ultimately we should have put the game to bed earlier. We had six or seven great chances which we didn’t take. It was certainly a nerve-wracking final five minutes. But in the end, I think we deserved to win.

Markus Weinzierl: We started the game as we had wanted to. Unfortunately taking the lead gave us no security. We made it easy for them for both of their goals. We allowed them to run down the wing for the first goal and our positioning in the middle was not right. After that we also could have gone ahead. Huntelaar hit the post from a header. For the second goal, we lost the ball as we were trying to start an attack – we need to avoid doing that in our third of the pitch. We definitely should have had a penalty in the second half. But when you're on a bad run, these things just tend to accumulate. But the team did not execute the game plan.

Kerem Demirbay: We deserved the three points today, so we can of course be happy with that. Before the goal I looked up and found the right moment for the pass. I wanted it to be perfectly accurate and sometimes you need a bit of luck in these situations. Luckily, Lukas was able to put the ball in after doing brilliantly to get to it.

Andrej Kramaric: We learnt from the matches against Leipzig and Darmstadt and finally picked up three points. We’re all really happy about that. But this is only the beginning. We still have a lot of work to do and a lot of games ahead of us so we need to kick on. I’m pleased to have scored, especially since I don’t often get goals with my head. I think the equaliser was very important. We played much better football after that. Finally we can actually celebrate but not for long since we have to get ourselves ready for Ingolstadt.

Sebastian Rudy: We tried to play good football right until the end. We had a lot of chances on the counterattack in the second half and should have finished them off earlier but we gave it absolutely everything. It was very tiring today but I think we all put in a really strong performance.
Benedikt Höwedes: We cannot concede goals like that at this level. All the teams in the Bundesliga are good enough to punish that kind of defending. We brought this defeat on ourselves. Our mentality just fell away. We made a lot of silly mistakes and didn’t take our chances. You can’t win matches if you do that. I feel completely numb right now.

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