Favre: 'It was a pulsating game'
Cologne - With both the race for Europe and the battle against the drop heating up with only two rounds of games to be played in the 2014/15 season, sitting on the bench at a Bundesliga game can become an increasingly unenviable challenge.
Check out how Bruno Labbadia celebrated Gojko Kacar's late equaliser courtesy of theBundesliga's official YouTube channel
bundesliga.com rounds up what the head coaches made of their respective sides' Matchday 32 outings as the season approaches its conclusion.
Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-0 Bayer 04 LeverkusenLucien Favre, Gladbach: "It was a pulsating game with a great tempo to it. Leverkusen made a great start and their pressing was really good. We didn't want to concede any dangerous counterattacks and that worked pretty well. We didn't want to leave any gaps for Son or Brandt. The opening goal was a bit unexpected and it surprised us on the bench. Then Leverkusen came back at us and our second goal came at just the right time."
Roger Schmidt, Leverkusen: "Congratulations to Lucien Favre and Borussia on the win and probably their place in the Champions League group stage. It's a shame that we lost today. We played well and you could see that both sides had plenty in their armoury. We didn't pay attention for their first goal, but then we had some good chances. After it was 2-0, it became a huge ask."
VfB Stuttgart 2-0 1. FSV Mainz 05Huub Stevens, Stuttgart: "We've not got anything yet – we've just won one game. We still need two more games like this. The only criticism I can level at my team is that they didn't take more chances, but it was enjoyable to watch the lads today."
Martin Schmidt, Mainz: "I've got to admit that the best team won – they were better because of the determination that they put into this game today. We're not coming to terms with this at the moment and that was the case last week against HSV too. Our plan of waiting until Stuttgart opened up went out of the window when they went 1-0 up."
FC Bayern München 0-1 FC AugsburgPep Guardiola, Bayern: "It's not easy to play a game with only ten men for 80 minutes when you bear in mind the game we had in Barcelona. We don't have any more players who can play out wide, which is why our full-backs have to get forward. I'm very proud of the players. If they only focus on scoring goals on Tuesday, then we're going to lose like we did last year against Madrid. Instead, we've got to keep our composure, keep our game under control and see what happens."
Markus Weinzierl, Augsburg: "We were a little bit shocked when we saw their line-up because we hadn't expected them to field practically their strongest side. But maybe that just gave my lads even more motivation. Unfortunately we still only get three points for this and now we have two more games to come in which we've got to give it all we've got."
Hamburger SV 1-1 SC FreiburgBruno Labbadia, Hamburg: "We made too many simple mistakes and struggled with possession. In the end, we threw everything forward and it all came down to our will. We deserved the point in the end. When you're in such a situation then you've got to say that we've got the best we could out of our last three game."
Christian Streich, Freiburg: "My team played a great game, but in the end we were unfortunate not to win. But life goes on. We won't give up – there would be no reason to do that."
SC Paderborn 1-3 VfL WolfsburgAndre Breitenreiter, Paderborn: "Congratulations to Wolfsburg on reaching the Champions League and for a fantastic season. I cannot blame my team at all - I can only praise them for the great game they played. We tried to create chances and attack. Maybe it would have been a different game had Lukas Rupp scored in the 11th minute. We never gave up even after they scored two. We wanted to get back into the game with all we've got, but their third goal decided it."
Dieter Hecking, Wolfsburg: "I've got to pay my team a huge compliment for taking this last step into the Champions League. We've dropped too many points in our last three games and that was unnecessary. That's why it was important to remain focused on this game and accept the challenge against a side who were always going to give it everything to get something. We rose to that challenge and had the efficiency to take our chances. We're now looking forward to our final two league matches in which we desperately want to defend second spot, and I keep my fingers crossed for Paderborn that they can stay up."
1. FC Köln 2-0 FC Schalke 04Peter Stöger,1. FC Köln: "We're very pleased. The lads had a great game against a side, who are currently competing for a spot in the UEFA Europa League. In terms of work rate and fighting spirit it was very strong, we took the opportunities that presented themselves. I'm proud of my players and the fact we've secured our survival. That was our target this season. We haven't once sat in the relegation spots and we've had a super season."
Roberto Di Matteo, FC Schalke 04: "I'm very disappointed. There aren't many positives we can find in this performance. Köln deserved to win, We never really got ourselves into the game. It's just not going for us away from home in the second half of the season. We'd envisaged things going very differently for us in this clash with Köln and wanted to prove something. It's difficult to find the right words to explain what happened over the 90 minutes so soon after the match. One thing's clear though: In the next two games we have to show a different side to ourselves and make a marked improvement if we want to get into the UEFA Europa League."
