“Very strong and mature defensive performance” | OneFootball

Board member for sport Markus Krösche, head coach Dino Toppmöller and captain – and man of the match – Robin Koch spoke after the game in Naples.

Board member for sport Markus Krösche: “It was a good match. We defended very well in the first half, even though we couldn’t manage to get on the front foot, but we expected that. Napoli were very dominant, and when we tried to go forward with long balls, there was no focus to them. In the second half we were much more active, created some chances and put in a mature performance. You can see that we’re developing in terms of the Champions League, and this was an important away point. It was crucial for the lads to get their reward and to see that they can keep pace.”

Head coach Dino Toppmöller: “This was clearly a match that was all about tactics. We knew that the defensive aspect of our game was going to be the most important part. We had to be in a position to resist their attacks physically, and we managed to do that, and as such, we earned our point. I would obviously have preferred a little more control over our possession and how we got the ball forward, but we knew full well who we were playing against. They’re the Italian champions and currently top of the league. It was a very strong and mature defensive performance, and so we feel very positive about the point that we took away and the fact that we didn’t concede against one of the best teams in Europe.”

Robin Koch: “It was the kind of match that we were expecting. Napoli are the best team in Italy, and we knew that we’d have a tough time of it here. We defended really well over the 90 minutes. Up front, we struggled as Napoli didn’t give us a lot. We were aiming for a win and would have loved to have taken the three points, but looking at how the match played out, with Napoli having much more possession, a draw is a fair result. What’s crucial is how solid we were defensively, and we’re happy to come away with a well-earned point.”