#TSGSCB match reaction: "A bitter defeat"

Julian Nagelsmann: I was satisfied with our performance in the first 30 and the last 15 minutes, but naturally I am not satisfied with the result. We needed to kill the game off in the first 30 minutes, and we paid the price for failing to do this. We then fell asleep at the back post and did not close down fast enough, and consequently went 1-2 down. After that we lost our rhythm, and we lacked that spark to make the necessary breakthrough against a very deep-sitting opposition. We were the better side, but Braga scored one goal more than us. Therefore, we lost.

Abel Ferreira: Only a few people believed we could win today. The players and I believed. All the players gave everything. The game was important for our process of creating a new identity for ourselves. We have a long, tough journey ahead of us. We improve after every victory and every defeat. We changed our system several times during the match today to give us the best chance of beating Hoffenheim. Overall, we defended very well and played with courage.

Sandro Wagner: Football is a very fast-moving sport. You have to be constantly proving yourself, whether you’re playing Bayern or Braga. Today, we couldn’t replicate the level of our performance against Bayern. That is of course a real shame, but life goes on. We can put things right this Sunday against Hertha. Today we wasted a few chances, which is something we simply cannot be doing, and at the back we did not defend consistently enough. And that is why we have lost. We have only ourselves to blame.

Kevin Vogt: I'm frustrated. We completely controlled the first half, and yet we only went in at halftime with the score at 1-1. Shortly after the break we then conceded a second, something which you cannot allow to happen. Braga then just defended for their lives, so it was very difficult for us. We should not have been behind. And we should not have lost. We simply could not get into dangerous areas often enough. Consequently, we conceded the goals far too softly. We cannot let that happen in the future.

Pavel Kaderabek: We played really well in the first 20 minutes. In that period we should have gone two, or even three goals ahead. We only managed one, and that was wiped out when we conceded shortly before the break. The second half was not good. We created too few chances. After Braga’s second goal it was very difficult for us, as they kept ten men in their own penalty area. Ultimately, we failed to get the goals we needed early on to kill off the game. Andrej and I had big chances. Now we have to move on. Next up we play Hertha on Saturday in the Bundesliga.

Ermin Bicakcic: I simply couldn’t continue after half time. I took a heavy knock to my knee, in the same place as I did against Leverkusen. That was unfortunate. I was in pain, so I could no longer help the team. Today we had to score two or three goals early on, because we had the chances to do so. After we went behind it was then difficult. It is a bitter defeat for us. We wanted to start the group stage very differently, but we failed to continue our strong home form today.

Benjamin Hübner: We had a lot more in us today. We started very well, but we were unable to continue this. We were unable to put them under as much pressure as we wanted. We had the better chances, but we were often lacking the final ball. The player rotation had nothing to do with this defeat today. Everyone in the team knows their role. We have to play a lot of games, so rotation is required.

 

 

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