Reactions: 'The goals we conceded were far too cheap'

Post-Match Report

Reactions: "The goals we conceded were far too cheap"

"We put up a great fight. But we can't start games like that," said Gregor Kobel. Here are the reactions to the game against Leverkusen.

Nuri Sahin (to DAZN): "The three goals we conceded were far too cheap at this level. I expect my players to defend better. You could see what Leverkusen wanted to do. And we wanted to have our moments against them and kept getting into good spaces. But coming back from three goals against Leverkusen is not easy. I expect us to play better. It wasn't a bad performance with the ball."

Sebastian Kehl (in the mixed zone): "We started the game with maximum misfortune. Leverkusen were very effective, but we didn't perform well either and made it too easy for them. Nevertheless, you always had the feeling that there was more in it for us. We were hoping to equalise, but perhaps we lacked a bit of conviction in the end."

Julian Brandt (to WDR): "Falling behind 1-0 early on didn't make the situation any easier. We're conceding goals too cheaply. We have to find solutions. Conceding three goals at home is very annoying. We should have done a lot of things better, including in possession. We could have had more penetration."

Gregor Kobel (to DAZN): "Of course, there were exceptional circumstances before the game. We put up a great fight. But we shouldn't start the game like that. Everything that followed was amazing. The fans were there, we fought, tried everything and didn't have a bad game afterwards. It hurts that we've come away with zero points, because it would have been a great story for us as a team to step up like that against the champions and at least get a point, even with a few players missing."

Almugera Kabar (to BVB TV): "It was really tough to concede a goal so early on. We tried to fight back, but unfortunately it wasn't enough in the end. We wanted to dominate, we wanted to play football in their half. There was potential for more. Unfortunately, we didn't capitalise on all our scoring chances. I found out about my involvement yesterday, relatively early on, and I went into the game with confidence."

Felix Nmecha (in the mixed zone): "Of course, it's not easy when so many people are out with illness, but in the end there were only two or three of the experienced players who weren't there. It wasn't good enough from all of us. But we never gave up and always wanted to come back. There was never a moment in the game when we thought: It's finished. It's a shame that we started the year like this. We have to win the next game to stay in contention."
Transcribed by Boris Rupert