Swiss tactician Lucien Favre masterminded a superb tactical performance from his Gladbach side away to Bayern on Sunday

Favre: 'It's only three points - and it’s already in the past'

23.03.2015

Cologne - Top-three wannabes Borussia Mönchengladbach and Bayer 04 Leverkusen were both delighted with solid defensive displays on Matchday 26 as they kept up their push for UEFA Champions League qualification, while teams in the lower half of the table were relieved to pick up vital points.

FC Bayern München 0-2 Borussia Mönchengladbach

bundesliga.com has the best of the post-match reaction from the Bundesliga coaches... Pep Guardiola (Bayern): “We started well and had their counterattacks under control. We tried everything we could but it was difficult without Frank [Ribery] and Arjen [Robben]. In the second half we played with too much heart and not enough with our heads. Gladbach did very well. We didn’t lose because of Manu [Neuer], but because we had problems in attack. People think it’s always easy in the Bundesliga but I know how hard it is. We have to analyse the game and after the international break we’ll get back to winning ways.”

Lucien Favre (Gladbach): “We played very well. It was important that we defended so well. Bayern were outstanding for 20-25 minutes and it was difficult for us in that period as we didn’t see much of the ball. Then we had a bit of luck and scored our goal. We were better after the break: we played good football and found very good solutions to the problems we faced. However, it was only one game and three points and it’s already in the past now.”

1. FSV Mainz 05 1-1 VfL Wolfsburg

Martin Schmidt (Mainz): “We feel like we’ve done really well. I think we deserved to earn more than a point, but it was still an important point in the relegation battle.”

Dieter Hecking (Wolfsburg): “Mainz played really well. We didn’t show up at all in the first half and we couldn’t have complained if we’d conceded a second goal. We equalised at just the right time after the break.”

FC Schalke 04 0-1 Bayer 04 Leverkusen

Roberto Di Matteo (Schalke): “We had too many mistakes in our build-up play, which is why we couldn’t control the game. We also weren’t able to create many chances and we frequently made the wrong decision. Over the last few weeks we’ve shown that we can attack well but against Leverkusen it’s difficult to fashion any openings. We had a couple of half-chances.”

Roger Schmidt (Leverkusen): “We played really well and deserved to win. It’s fantastic that my team was able to focus on this game after our [UEFA Champions League] match on Tuesday. Schalke are strong at home, but we defended well and could have killed the game off with one of our chances on the break. Over the past few weeks we’ve shown that we’ve become more stable. We’re defending superbly and that’s why we’re conceding fewer goals. That’s the foundation. If we could put away our chances every so often then everything would be perfect.”

Hannover 96 2-3 Borussia Dortmund

Tayfun Korkut (Hannover): “You could see that the team wanted it and we tried until the very final second. Now we’re caught up in the relegation battle. There are only two points in it [separating Hannover from the drop zone]. We’re talking about Hannover’s future. The bulk of the responsibility lies on my shoulders, but I still feel like I have the club’s backing.”

Jürgen Klopp (Dortmund): “We started well but completely threw the game away by conceding the equaliser. We were excellent after the red card [for Hannover’s Leonardo Bittencourt]. If you look at the table you can see how important the win was today.”

VfB Stuttgart 3-1 Eintracht Frankfurt

Huub Stevens (Stuttgart): “We’re happy with the three points. Last week we played superbly for half an hour, but then conceded a goal and lost our way. We weren’t in the game today and you could see what pressure does to people, making them nervous and hectic. The players deserve credit for showing morale after going 1-0 down. However, it’s only three points, nothing more.”

Thomas Schaaf (Frankfurt): “Once again we managed to lose our grip on a game we had under control - it’s a never ending story with us. We played very well for a very long time but didn’t make the most of it. We conceded a goal out of the blue again and got too hung up on that, which we were punished for. We’ll continue working on improving that.”

Hamburger SV 0-1 Hertha Berlin

Joe Zinnbauer (former Hamburg coach): “We lost an important game. The team did OK at the start and created some good chances. We had our moments in the second half too but we’re just not scoring. We conceded almost immediately after going down to ten men and then it was really difficult. We’ll keep fighting and will give everything we’ve got.”

Pal Dardai (Hertha): “Hamburg were the better team in the first half but we improved after the break and deserved to win. It was an important victory today but we can’t afford to ease off. If we can beat Paderborn after the international break then things will look pretty good for us.”