Gabor Gallai: "Soak it all up once more"

Head coach Gabor Gallai on…

…the successful start to the home straight.

"We produced a very slick performance against Bremen, which is what we'd set out to do. The way the game panned out with the early opener and the second goal immediately afterwards was ideal, we were able to perform with confidence after that. It's nice that there were so many different goalscorers, because that shows that we don't only pose a goal threat through certain individuals. Moreover, the goals came from different situations: set-pieces, counter-attacks and positional attacks. We were very happy with our performance, but the goal we conceded was annoying. We analysed it so as to ensure we can be even more consistent next time. This attention to detail is important after such games so that we can take the next steps."

…the game away to HB Køge.

"In Køge, we're expecting another game in which we'll have more possession than our opponent. Despite the clear result in the first leg, we've been warned: Køge kept Barcelona out for a long time in front of their home crowd and were really dangerous in transition once or twice as well. The Danes will probably base their game on a certain compactness against us too, but they will also repeatedly exert pressure via their offensive pressing. It will probably be our last away trip in the Champions League for the time being, so we will try to soak up every moment and, above all, motivate ourselves to do it again next season."

…personnel matters.

"In the case of Tine De Caigny and Gia Corley, who did not play against Bremen due to muscular problems, we seem to be moving towards having them available again to face Køge on Thursday. In that case, only Isabella Hartig and Paulina Krumbiegel would still be missing."

The reverse fixture against HB Køge:

TSG picked up their first three points of this UEFA Women's Champions League campaign on Matchday 1 thanks to an impressive 5-0 (1-0) victory against Danish champions HB Køge. Coach Gabor Gallai's charges impressed across the board in the opening half but, despite creating numerous goalscoring chances, only a dream goal from Katharina Naschenweng (18) separated the sides at the break (18). In the second period, TSG continued where they had left off and added further goals through Nicole Billa (47), Luana Bühler (61) and Tine De Caigny (63), who then scored another to round off the scoring in stoppage time (90+2).

The opposition's form:

Having won the championship last season, HB Køge top Denmark's Elitedivisionen again this term and are yet to lose a match. Head coach Søren Randa-Boldt's charges finished the first half of the season in top spot, with 12 wins and two draws on the board. The Danish's sides performances in the UEFA Women's Champions League have not been as successful to date. Køge are yet to pick up a point after four rounds of matches; after their opening-day 5-0 defeat to Hoffenheim, the Danish League leaders put in a remarkable display before going down 2-0 to Barcelona on home turf. They then suffered two further defeats in November, losing 5-1 and 3-0 to Arsenal.

The group stage:

Only a victory against HB Køge – combined with a defeat for Arsenal against Barcelona – would keep TSG's hopes of progressing through to the knockout stages of the UEFA Women's Champions League alive. If that were to happen, the Hoffenheim ladies could then draw level on points with the English league leaders if they beat them on the final matchday. The final standings would then be determined by the head-to-head record between TSG and Arsenal. Gallai's charges lost the reverse fixture 4-0 in London, so they would need a heavy victory at the Dietmar-Hopp-Stadion if they are to reach the knockout phase of the Champions League as runners-up.

Match facts and statistics »