Kobel: “I’ll take the blame for that one” | OneFootball

Sebastian Kehl (in the mixed zone): “At 11 vs 11, we had a lot of control over the game, and I’m convinced that we would have won with eleven players. The red card in the 53rd minute was a game changer, and after that, it was a different game. And Freiburg earned the point in the end. Of course, you should try to have a little more ball control even when you’re down a man, to provide relief, making the ball stick up front. But it was not an easy game. Freiburg built up a lot of pressure, making life difficult for us with plenty of crosses and a busy penalty area. We should not have put ourselves in that situation. I think we could have made it a different game. There are a lot of things you could be done better in that incident. So it was just one big chain of events.”

Niko Kovac (on DAZN): “We played a full half with ten men. So you have to live with a 1-1 draw in Freiburg – they’re a good team. Of course, we are not satisfied with the result. But if you look at how it came about, I have to live with it – and I can! We made life difficult for ourselves with the sending off. That’s football: when you’re making decisions, you also make mistakes. It cost us the game. We controlled the game in the first half, were very solid, did not allow them anything much. When you’re a man down, it’s difficult to play football.”

Gregor Kobel (on DAZN): “If the red card doesn’t happen, the game looks different. We hadn’t allowed them much until then, we had control of the game and were very dominant. It was certainly a misunderstanding (the situation that led to the red card [ed.]). I initially felt that he had a lot of space. At the end of the day, I have to play a better pass so that he doesn’t commit this foul. I’ll take the blame for that one. We were really under pressure after that. Then Höler scores a crazy goal. The way the game went, you have to be satisfied with the 1-1.”

Yan Couto (in the mixed zone): “We came here to win this game because it was like a mini final for second place. In the first half, we played well. We have to try to score more goals and put the game to bed early. It was difficult after the red card.”Transcribed by Boris Rupert