Board member for sport Markus Krösche: “Right from the first minute, we didn’t get stuck into the duels and looked lacking in purpose, even though we knew what to expect. Köln had the passion that we were lacking. The two sendings-off for the bookings were justified. We invited our opponents to come at us and in certain situations, we just didn’t look ready – overall, we deserved to lose.”
Head coach Dino Toppmöller: “In the first half, we didn’t show any of the aggression or strength out on the pitch that we were hoping for. There were periods of play where we won possession well, but we failed to do enough with it. We lost the ball on too many occasions and made unforced errors, and that’s no way to dominate a match. We need to reduce our mistakes next week, have a better shape and not play in such a sloppy way.”
Sebastian Rode: “It’s tough to explain away this performance. We just didn’t get into the game. Köln were always that little bit quicker and more determined in the duels. If you win the one-on-ones, then spaces open up. But if you just sit back and wait for the opposition to come at you, it gets tough. We’ll need to show a different side against Bochum.”
