Nicolai Müller: "Hoffenheim are in good form"

Nicolai, on the last matchday you were on target twice, but HSV still lost 5-2 at home against BVB. What does a defeat like that feel like?

Nicolai Müller: A game like that is obviously very disappointing. We were very eager to give a good performance, but individual mistakes put us on the back foot early on in the game. At half-time, we told ourselves that we wanted to score a goal and not lose the second half. We managed to do that and I’m happy that I was able to score again after a lengthy dry-run. We need a bit of success like that at the moment in order to rebuild our confidence.

You’ve managed to collect two points from ten games. Back in July when you were preparing for the season, did you ever imagine that this could be the case?

Müller: No, naturally we had a completely different expectation. Our goal was to finish in the top half of the standings. We can’t change the fact that it didn’t go that way and that we are now in a difficult situation. We have to accept the situation. We need to get a win, which could help finally kick-start our season. We have to stay positive, since there are still many points to play for.

Your next opponent is TSG, who are currently in third place. What has been your impression of Hoffenheim?

Müller: Hoffenheim are on a pretty good run. They haven’t lost yet and recently managed a 1-1 draw against FC Bayern. We are expecting a tough opponent, whom we have prepared for well and intensively during the international break.

What will happen during the 90 minutes on the pitch on Sunday?

Müller: We want to collect our first victory and I’m convinced that we can pull it off in Hoffenheim. In order for that to happen we need to give it our all for the entire 90 minutes. In recent games we often made life difficult for ourselves by making individual mistakes. We have to play as a team and believe in ourselves. It will be difficult, but anything is possible.

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