Meyer: 'Delighted to be back in the Champions League'
Gelsenkirchen - It was a tale of two starkly contrasting emotions at the final whistle at the Veltins-Arena on Matchday 34, as FC Schalke 04's victory over 1. FC Nürnberg guaranteed the Royal Blues a place in the group stages of next season's UEFA Champions League, while FCN were condemned to Bundesliga 2.
FC Schalke 04
bundesliga.com rounds up the key players' post-match thoughts...
Max Meyer: The pressure's always been there this season. We had to get a result against Nürnberg, but it wasn't any different against SC Freiburg the week before. We've proved often enough that we can handle this type of situation, now we're just delighted to have defended third place and qualified for the Champions League.
Julian Draxler: It was clear that Nürnberg were a bit nervous in the opening stages, which is perfectly understandable considering their situation. We made it clear from the off that we wanted to win the match. The first goal took a lot of the pressure off. We finished the job in style.
Kevin-Prince Boateng: It's been a great season and deserve to finish third. We had our fair share of setbacks, but always managed to bounce back. Our aim has been to challenge near the top of the league, and we've managed to do that this season. We want to do the same again next year.
1. FC Nürnberg
Per Nilsson: If you finish the season on 26 points, you deserve to go down. We just haven't performed well enough as a team, which is hugely disappointing. We started the second half of the campaign really well, but then we started to pick up injuries and couldn't show the necessary quality on the pitch.
Javier Pinola [who was suspended for the Schalke game]: I had a good feeling before the game and complete trust in my team-mates who gave everything today. Everyone has made mistakes this season which mustn't happen again, even if nobody does that on purpose. Everyone who's played the game realises what a relegation means to a club. I'm more or less lost for words at the minute.
