Lars Ricken: “A very strong development towards consistency and stability” | OneFootball

Lars Ricken on the start to the season:“This isn’t just a moment we're having, but instead it's a very strong development towards consistency and stability. We’ve now won five games and drawn two (in all competitions, ed.). You can take it even further: our last defeat in the Bundesliga was over six months ago. We’re scoring an average of over three goals and have now gone four games in a row without conceding in the league. Our goal after the Club World Cup was to establish ourselves at the top right away and stay there, not like in previous years when we had to play catch-up. So far, we’ve been really impressive. But we saw again today that no one can think about taking their foot off the gas. Ten seconds before we scored the opening goal, Mainz could have made it 1-0. Then it could have been a different game.”

… the effectiveness in front of goal in the game in Mainz:“With so many games, we need this clinical finishing. We scored the goals through speed, precision, but also a playful approach. And then, of course, it’s also great to see how the players are learning. It felt like we spent the last seven minutes at the corner flag. That reminds me of the game against Juve, where we needed that.”

… Nico Schlotterbeck and stability in defence:“We’ve also had games without Nico where we kept a clean sheet. But of course he gives us incredible stability with his experience and his ability to build up play. To play two games over 90 minutes after six months and feel like he was never away is extremely remarkable.”

... the performance of Julian Brandt, who set up both goals:“I predicted before the game that the bench would be decisive. Of course, I didn’t think it would happen so quickly because Serhou (Guirassy) unfortunately had to sit out. The things Julian shows are difficult to learn: instinctively running into the right spaces at the right time, playing passes with exactly the right weight. It was an outstanding response from Julian: coming into the team at such short notice and then having a decisive influence on the game, deciding it even.”

...excitement at the top of the table:“I can still remember the summer a year ago, when we were dubbed Bayern’s closest challengers, and we didn’t really deny it. But at one point we were down in 11th and only just made it into the Champions League. So our aim was to establish ourselves at the top right from the start. I don’t think it’s wrong for one or two players to make ambitious statements. But we also know where we’ve come from.”