Post-match reaction to defeat against Man City
Head coach Jesse Marsch, Emil Forsberg and Lukas Klostermann after the 6-3 loss in the Champions League Group Stage opener against Manchester City
Jesse Marsch:
- "The way we played in the second half was really good. If we had played like that in the first 45 minutes, we would have had a more open game. To go into the break with 3-1 down is very difficult against such a good opponent. The differences were again in the final third today. In the second half we reacted well and were strong in duels, but it wasn’t enough for the calibre of opposition.
We wanted to sit deeply but also defend aggressively. In the first half we lacked the latter, were almost never aggressive and had little intensity against the ball. That played into Manchester City's hands. They were able to play their game, work with switches and crosses.
Against Mainz, we had too little movement in possession. Against Wolfsburg, we didn't have enough pace in transition. Against Bayern, we played intensively and won a lot of balls, but we weren't good enough in the transition situations. We have a lot of work ahead of us and it's a shame that we haven't found the rhythm that we were hoping for. But we must and will take a lot from this second half, because we have to stay strong. A fight is waiting for us in Cologne, and it will definitely not be an easy one."
Emil Forsberg:
- "Simply put, we conceded too many goals. If you concede as many as we did, it gets really hard to get anything out of the game. We wanted to keep up with them today, but you can't do that if you allow such easy goals. Six goals is definitely painful, so it’s definitely a disappointing night for us. Of course, the pressure increases now, but that doesn't change the fact that we have a fantastic team. We have to learn from our mistakes, look ahead and pick up points. That's the focus."
Lukas Klostermann:
- "It's very frustrating to score three goals against Manchester City and come away with nothing. We had some moments in defence that we should have dealt with better. Our three goals showed that we can play well going forwards. Now we have to analyse the defeat and do better in the upcoming games. We've lost too many games and now it's about turning it around and picking up points again"