Reaction to #TSGPFC: “I’m proud of the performance”

Julian Nagelsmann: “Too much went against us today for us to be in with a realistic chance of winning. Their keeper stopped a certain goal by handling the ball outside of the area, while Wanderson played the ball with his hand twice in the lead-up to his equaliser. The referee missed both instances. The youngsters played exceptionally today. If you weren’t aware of the standings, it would have seemed like this was a game between two teams who were fighting to progress to the next stage of the tournament Everyone gave their all today and pushed themselves to their limits. We wanted to win, so that’s why we sent up Gregor Kobel at the very end. I’m proud of the performance.”

Dimitar Dimitrov: “That was a difficult game for us. The game was played at a very high level. It was all about finding a balance for us at the beginning. We didn’t want to just sit back and let them come to us - it was important to close down the spaces in midfield against a team that plays quickly like Hoffenheim. After they scored the opener, we were more ambitious going forward. From about the 50th minute onwards, we managed to take control of the game. The red card made things challenging at the end, but I’m very happy to come away with the all-important point.”

Philipp Ochs: “The knee is feeling okay, but I had a bit of pain when I tried to run on it. I hope that it’ll be fully recovered for the weekend. It was a great feeling to score the goal - my first as a professional player. Overall, we played really well today. With a bit of luck we could have won the game.”

Robin Hack: “It was a unique experience for me today. I’ll keep working hard to get my chances in the Bundesliga. We played well today for a team full of youth, and I learned a lot. I’ll always remember this game. We really wanted to win, and that’s why we sent Gregor up at the end.”

Ermin Bicakcic: “We were a bit of a mixed bunch, but we still wanted to go out from this competition on a high. We managed to do that I thought. Everyone played well this evening. The youngsters wanted to prove themselves tonight and they definitely did so. Personally I’m very happy to have been able to get back on the pitch again. It’s fantastic to be back. We tried everything that we could to come away with the three points. We played with a lot of emotion - that was clear. That’s the type of game that I relish.”

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