Di Matteo: 'It was good to keep a clean sheet'
Cologne - There were goals, comebacks and defensive nightmares aplenty on Matchday 8, giving the head coaches a lot to talk about in the wake of their respective sides' outings this weekend.
FC Schalke 04 2-0 Hertha Berlin
bundesliga.com rounds up the choicest post-match quotes from around Germany’s top flight, including new FC Schalke 04 boss Roberto Di Matteo's take on his first game in charge of the Royal Blues…
Roberto Di Matteo (Schalke): It wasn’t a spectacular game but the main thing for us was to pick up all three points. It was good that we kept a clean sheet, too. Our defence played well. Hertha caused us some problems, as we expected them to, but we scored two goals and had other chances, especially at the beginning. We were well organised but we can still improve. That’ll come when our confidence improves with another win or two.
Jos Luhukay (Hertha): Congratulations to Roberto Di Matteo. It’s always nice to win your first game. It’s a disappointing result for us, though. Schalke were very efficient, whereas we weren’t clinical enough. We were lacking the necessary drive in both situations where they scored, but I can’t and won’t criticise my team.
FC Bayern München 6-0 SV Werder Bremen
Pep Guardiola (Bayern): Matches tend to be difficult after the international break but we played well, with a good attitude, good positioning and good build-up play. Things got easier after Philipp Lahm put us 1-0 up.Robin Dutt (Bremen): There’s no point beating about the bush: we played very badly and you can’t afford to do that against Bayern. We didn’t play anywhere near like we did here in the second half of last season. We didn’t have a single shot on goal and were poor in our challenges. They deserved to win, even by a margin that big.
1. FC Köln 2-1 Borussia Dortmund
Peter Stöger (Köln): We’re very, very happy and of course the result was a big surprise. I can only congratulate the lads. The victory was especially important because over the last few weeks we felt like we’d played well but not got anything, and when that happens, it’s always difficult to explain. Nevertheless, we still have plenty of work to do in order to stay in this league.Jürgen Klopp (Dortmund): We played a style of football that made absolutely no sense. We misplaced a lot of passes and made simple mistakes that hurt us a lot. That meant we didn’t have any strength left at the end. We need to eradicate these mistakes. Not tomorrow or the day after but now. It’s pathetic to concede two goals in every game. We need to ourselves out of this; it's not something anybody can help us with.
VfB Stuttgart 3-3 Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Armin Veh (Stuttgart): The way we played in the first half wasn’t worthy of the Bundesliga. We made such ridiculous mistakes. We couldn’t have complained if we’d gone 5-1 or 6-1 behind. You can’t play like that, but the important thing is that we stayed calm. We stuck together as a team and that’s what we need to do if we don’t have the same quality as our opponents. We could even have won the game but overall I’m happy with a 3-3 draw.Roger Schmidt (Leverkusen): It seems like we never have any normal games. After playing a first half the way we did we can’t be happy to only have drawn. You can tell that these players are still young and just starting out. They haven’t yet experienced just how brutal Bundesliga football can be.
Hamburger SV 1-1 TSG 1899 Hoffenheim
Josef Zinnbauer (Hamburg): Hoffenheim are way ahead of us in the table so we can’t let our heads hang following this draw. After the game the players were going around as if we’d lost, but we didn’t. We wanted to start well but kept getting caught on the counter-attack. We were better in the second half, though.Markus Gisdol (Hoffenheim): It’s difficult to analyse that game. I thought we were quite good in the opening stages and Hamburg couldn’t have had any complaints if we’d scored a second. But then we condeded the equaliser too easily. Overall I think a draw is ok but I’m still a bit disappointed about what might have been in the first half.
SC Paderborn 3-1 Eintracht Frankfurt
Andre Breitenreiter (Paderborn): Both teams were solid in defence in the first half, but after going a goal down, we came back into it brilliantly. The fans played a major role in the win. They were top-class in pushing the players on right until the end. We showed tremendous character and the double substitution proved to be inspired for us.Thomas Schaaf (Bremen): Congratulations to Paderborn, they deserved to win the game. We went a goal up but we didn't show any determination or bite in the tackles after that. They went about the game with a lot more energy than us.
