Baumgartner: "An extremely bitter evening"

Christoph Baumgartner: "I can't be all that happy about my goal; I would've preferred to win. During the game, I didn't see the possible penalty incident. But when I look at the images, there are no two ways about it. It's a clear penalty. Florian Grillitsch's red card for two bookings is very harsh as well. Shortly after it went to 2-1, I should've scored the equaliser. The situation caught me a bit by surprise, but it should've been 2-2. Then we might've been able to turn the game around. It's an extremely bitter evening."

Oliver Baumann: "It's very bitter today. We actually made a very bright start and had a good chance immediately. Then Leverkusen were very dangerous via counter-attacks. The goal for 2-0 was very frustrating. The pass to me was slightly underhit. We started the second half very brightly and should've actually scored an equaliser. The match took its course thereafter."

Diadie Samassékou: "It was an entertaining game. Unfortunately, we didn't take our chances at the outset and when the score was 2-1. The two goals we conceded early in the first half set us back. We are capable of being better and cleverer than we were today. In the second half, we had the feeling that we could turn the game around; we pressed and created chances, but then Leverkusen scored again. It wasn't easy to stop the quick counter-attacks from the opposition. The game was over once the two red cards had been shown."

Ryan Sessegnon: "The first Leverkusen goal was brilliant, we couldn't do much about it. We then went 2-0 down due to a mistake; that was unfortunate. It was difficult to get back into it after that. But we did get back into the game again when we pulled a goal back. Unfortunately, in the end, the game was up for us after the two red cards."

Sebastian Hoeness: "That was a turbulent match. Florian Grillitsch should've put us into the lead after a few seconds. We fell behind due to an outstanding shot from Leon Bailey. The goal for 2-0 was a gift from us. But even after that we continued to show courage. We didn't play with enough conviction after winning the ball back. In the second period, we had two very good opportunities to score the equaliser, but we squandered our good spells. The referee clearly stated that he was wrong when it came to the red card Florian Grillitsch received for two bookings. After the second dismissal, it was simply a case of trying to get through the game relatively unscathed."

Peter Bosz (Bayer 04 Leverkusen coach): "The 4-1 scoreline looks very clear-cut, but it wasn't. I wasn't calm even after taking a 2-0 lead in at the break, because we were playing against a very good team. That remained the case until it became 3-1. After the red cards, it became easier for us. It's a super result for us."

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