"It'll be hard to catch up with Bayern Munich" - Borussia Dortmund's Marco Reus
Borussia Dortmund captain Marco Reus cut a frustrated figure after his side's damaging 4-2 Revierderby defeat to arch-rivals Schalke, while those of a Royal Blue persuasion were naturally delighted with a result that boots their own survival hopes.
bundesliga.com rounds up the post-match chat from both sides of the Ruhrpott divide after Schalke's Matchday 31 triumph in the 'mother of all derbies' at Dortmund's Signal Iduna Park...
Marco Reus (Dortmund attacker): "We don't need to debate about whether it was a red card. I didn't want to hurt my opponent, but I was late in the tackle and made contact. If we don't win our games, it'll be hard to catch up with Bayern."
Mario Götze (Dortmund midfielder): "It's a bitter, bitter defeat - losing at home and in terms of the standings. We knew how important a derby win would be, but we've still got three games. We'll see what happens. We'll fight until the end, as long as there's a possibility [of winning the title]."
Roman Bürki (Dortmund goalkeeper): “I still believe that we can become champions. There are still a few games to play. Bayern still have two difficult games against RB Leipzig and Eintracht Frankfurt. We have to believe in it until the end.
“The goal from the penalty took us somehow out of balance. But there was still plenty of time to play, it was only 1-1 and we were still with all eleven players on the pitch. So I don’t think that the penalty was something like a key moment. In the first half, we didn’t put enough greed and fire into our play on the pitch. It was better after the break. We believed that we could still pull the game back with nine players. At the end, it wasn’t enough, because we created too few chances to score. With eleven players we would have won this game.
Lucien Favre (Dortmund head coach): "It’s very, very hard to digest. I’ve never experienced anything like it."
Sebastian Kehl (Dortmund head of the licensed player division): "It’s hard to put into words. We didn’t create enough chances and we didn’t put Schalke under enough pressure, despite seeing more of the ball. I’m not giving up on the title, though."
Watch: Breel Embolo gives his thoughts on Schalke's win
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Daniel Caligiuri (Schalke midfielder): "It was like a cup game. Form goes out of the window in the derby. It was great to score twice, but it doesn’t matter who scores in the end. It’s always about the team. A derby win is always that little bit more special. It delighted for the fans who stood behind us today and droves us on. We can all be very proud today."
Benjamin Stambouli (Schalke defender): “If we believe in ourselves, anything is possible. With passion, we can achieve everything. We were able to give something back to our fans with this victory so that a lot is forgotten. I'll never forget the moment we ran to our fans after the final whistle. That was incredible! We have shown our character in this game and our mentality by reacting twice directly to a Dortmund goal and repulsing it.”
Suat Serdar (Schalke midfielder): “Nobody would have thought that this derby would end in such a clear win for us. The fans supported us from the first minute, it’s an indescribable feeling. We also want to win the last games because we owe a little something to the fans. The season is not over yet. We will continue to give 100 per cent. The coach has given us extra energy to be compact even without possession and to win our challenges.
Alexander Nübel (Schalke goalkeeper): "I was really excited in the build-up. Now I’m even happier. It’s an unbeatable feeling to win in Dortmund. I have to admit I was nervous. I’ve never experienced anything like it. You have a lot to lose even when you’re leading and have a numerical advantage. Breel [Embolo] delivered the perfect response to Dortmund’s second goal. At that point, I knew we wouldn’t let the derby slip through our hands.
Breel Embolo (Schalke striker): "It’s for the fans, for the city. It’s for all the those who believe in us. All the people who go every week. It’s not been our season, but we wanted to show that we are a team. It’s an important win."
Omar Mascarell (Schalke midfielder): "We came here to win. We did, we played very well, we played as a team. We fight like a Schalke team. We are very happy."
Guido Burgstaller (Schalke striker): “I’m especially pleased about this victory for our fans. For all who believed in us, this is a really nice day. We were brutally under pressure. Through this season we’ve been broken apart and have lost confidence. That was not the case this time. We believed in ourselves quite differently and followed our plan.”
Huub Stevens (Schalke coach): "We did exactly what we set out to do. After going 1-0 down, I was concerned heads might drop, but we kept our shape and organisation. Hats off to the lads."
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