Götze: 'It was very emotional'
Borussia Dortmund’s stars were in a reflective mood after Friday's 3-1 win at the SIGNAL IDUNA PARK, but there were plenty of positives for the SC Freiburg players to focus on despite the result.
Goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Lukasz Piszczek set BVB on course for victory before Raphael Guerreiro put the icing on the cake after Maximilian Philipp had pulled a goal back for the visitors. The result saw Dortmund equal a club-record 24-game unbeaten streak on home soil in the Bundesliga and here is what the main protagonists had to say after the game...
Mario Götze (Borussia Dortmund midfielder): “It was a lot of fun, but it was also a lot of hard work. Some situations were rather hectic from our perspective. We’ve got a really good blend of players in the squad. You can see that in our performances. Making my return tonight for the first time in Dortmund was a really special moment. It was very emotional. It was like how I thought it would be. It was a great feeling to come back into the team, and the reaction I got when I came off was really positive. I’m really happy as it was a great moment for me.”
Watch: Thomas Tuchel gives his verdict on the match
SC Freiburg
Thomas Tuchel (Borussia Dortmund head coach): “We struggled in the first 15 minutes, but then had 30 superb minutes in the first half and deservedly took the lead. In the second half, we started with another superb 30 minutes. Then we started passing it to Roman [Bürki] too often and we let a bit of uncertainty creep into our game. We managed to ride it out in the end. We’re pleased with the victory. Mario [Götze]’s ball for the first goal took four players out of the game, it was super. Ousmane [Dembele] came across as rather tired last night, but this morning he was cracking jokes and in good spirits. So I wanted him on the pitch. The experience of this game has come at exactly the right time for us. We’re not focusing on the Real Madrid game, we’re focusing on our development. It’s from games like today that we grow.”
Vincenzo Grifo (SC Freiburg midfielder): "To be honest I was a little surprised when I got the early chance and I didn’t get my feet set. Next time I’ll have to do better with a chance like that. We played well against Hamburg and I think we played well here tonight. Ok, we’re going home on the back of a loss, but we can take take the positives from this game into our next encounter."
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