“We have to defend better” | OneFootball

Board member for sport Markus Krösche, head coach Albert Riera and Ansgar Knauff give their analysis of the 3-1 defeat against Leipzig, and the season as a whole.

Board member for sport Markus Krösche: “We did pretty well in the first half, although we should have defended better for their first goal. Our goal was nicely worked. We didn’t do enough in the second half. Leipzig deserved to win overall. We’re disappointed, especially with the second half. We weren’t aggressive enough, we have to defend better. It’s been a recurring theme throughout the season that we often come off second best in one-on-one situations and don’t win our challenges. We haven’t been consistent this year and we haven’t managed to play to our best over the course of 90 minutes. That’s the reason our performances have been inconsistent. These are topics we have to address with the players. That’s the difference compared to last year. We have to be honest and say that we’re not playing well. Now we have to improve in our remaining four games. I believe we can because I’m a very positive person. We’ve got a young team that can still develop. Our objective is to finish seventh.”

Head coach Albert Riera: “Overall, I wasn’t happy with the way we contested our duels. You have to win your challenges if you want to win games. Leipzig were better than us at that, which is one of the reasons we lost. We have to be more clinical. We had a lot of chances to win the game. We largely competed on an even footing against the third-placed team, and most of our statistics are fine. We believe we can secure European qualification in our next four games, so that we can hear the anthems again in this wonderful stadium. We need to play with more energy on the pitch. If we win three more matches we’ll achieve our objectives.”

Ansgar Knauff: “Leipzig have a great team but we competed well in the first half, it was an open game. Things changed a bit in the second half and we gave away chances far too easily. Leipzig were better in the end. We have to keep working on ourselves, stick together and, as a team, give everything to get all three points next week. Our standards are higher than this, nobody is satisfied with what has been a difficult campaign. It’s a process, but obviously it’s not enough with the end of the season approaching. We have to make sure that we win as many points as possible in our remaining four matches.”