Müller: 'Our opponents don’t make it easy for us'
FC Bayern München forward Thomas Müller was full of praise for vanquished FC Schalke 04. The Germany striker admitted: 'Our opponents don’t make it easy for us', despite his side running out eventual 3-1 winners at the VELTINS Arena on Saturday evening.
FC Schalke 04 1-3 FC Bayern München
Goals: 0-1 Goretzka (o.g. 9’), 1-1 Meyer (17’), 1-2 Martinez (69’), 1-3 Müller (90+2')
Thomas Müller (Bayern forward): “You have to work hard for every win in the Bundesliga. Our opponents don’t make it easy for us and recently playing with a five-man backline has become fashionable. Our opponents give everything they’ve got, so we also have to give 100 per cent in every game. We did well here, but it was annoying to concede from a counter-attack.”
Manuel Neuer (Bayern goalkeeper): “We deserved to win. Max Meyer’s shot was an awkward one but I still should have kept it out. The ball moved more quickly on the wet grass and I wanted to tip it around the post but unfortunately that didn’t happen. We may have an eight-point lead in the table now, but we haven’t won anything yet.”
Pep Guardiola (Bayern coach): “It was difficult to win here but we did it. I have to compliment the team. The pitch wasn’t easy, nor was playing against their five-man defence. We played very well up until their goal, but in the second half we controlled the game again. It’s another three points.”
Andre Breitenreiter (Schalke coach): “Tactically, we were excellent today and the boys executed our plan perfectly. We hardly gave Bayern any room to create chances and we were really dangerous ourselves on the break. But a small mistake was all Bayern needed to go 2-1 up. We could have taken something from this game, which is why we’re looking forward positively.”
Ralf Fährmann (Schalke goalkeeper): “There’s not a lot we can criticise today. We fought really well for 90 minutes so it’s frustrating that Bayern ruthlessly punished the small mistakes we made. That just shows you the class they have. We’re a team in transition, and you can’t get everything right in the space of a couple of months. We just need to be patient.”
Max Meyer (Schalke midfielder): “We played against what may be the best team in the world today and didn’t give much away. After conceding the opening goal early on we competed with them and were brave going forward. With my goal to make it 1-1 I didn’t think about it much, I just shot on instinct. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough to earn a point in the end. We can build on this performance despite the defeat.”
Benedikt Höwedes (Schalke defender): “We fought really well today and forced Bayern to play a lot of square balls. They didn’t have many chances but unfortunately we went behind after switching off for a moment. We kept our courage after going behind and didn’t let our heads drop. It’s a shame we didn’t get anything to show for our efforts today.”
