Reactions: “That’s the kind of football we need”

Sebastian Kehl: “We played a really cool away game today, which we should have won earlier in the second half. The team have shown that they can survive here as well. We made a lot of plans for this game. The team implemented them really well, and after this, hopefully the talk that we cannot win against big teams this season will stop. We deservedly won.”

Niko Kovac: “The bottom line is we deservedly won, even if we should have closed out the game earlier. We had huge chances to score the third goal. It was a hard piece of work, we knew that, and the team did really well from the very first minute. In the first half, we could have done a little better with our two strikers. It wasn’t aggressive enough for me. Then, in the second half, we upped it. Here in Leverkusen, you have to control the game so well. That’s a compliment, I like that, and that’s the kind of football we need. We have to win games, and we have done that today against a really good opponent. We defended very well, and I’m really proud of that.”

Julian Brandt: “I actually had it in my own hands to decide the game. I should have put it in, but I slipped a bit while shooting. I couldn’t manage to put it in anymore. But we are also not a team that always somehow concede the 90th minute equaliser. It was an important victory against our direct competitors. It was a good game, but it was only the first of two. It will continue on Tuesday. It’s different playing away from home. Now we have the pleasure of playing at home on Tuesday. Leverkusen – these have always been extremely tight contests in recent years, and I expect another on Tuesday.”

Gregor Kobel: “We played well from the first whistle. Leverkusen are a very strong team on the ball. We played well time and again, had our own phases of possession, went forward well, and also had chances. We took the lead with a very good set-piece, which was important for us and for the game as a whole. They had a few chances, but overall it was still a good performance, also on the defensive end. On Tuesday, it will definitely be a different game.” But we’re at home. It is important that we build up a good atmosphere with our fans, and absorb that energy. We want it to carry us into the game and continue where we left off today.”

Transcribed by Boris Rupert