FC Bayern München’s 2-0 victory at home to Borussia Mönchengladbach on matchday 8 ended their mini-crisis of two consecutive Bundesliga draws, while world champion Manuel Neuer had a quiet game and didn’t struggle to keep his latest clean sheet. DFB.de listened in on the interviews after the game.
Question: Mr. Neuer, following two draws in the league, Bayern dominated Gladbach today and secured a comfortable 2-0 win. Are you satisfied?
Manuel Neuer: We wanted to make amends and produce a solid and focused performance. During our recent two draws we took the lead but in the end couldn’t get the wins. You can’t keep playing the same way and expect that nothing will happen at your own end. We can’t just pass the ball around, position ourselves and hope that the opponent will eventually tire or give up - that doesn’t happen in the Bundesliga.
Question: What exactly did Bayern do better against Gladbach than in those games?
Neuer: We’ve had some very close games with Gladbach in the recent past. Today we started well and put in a good performance, especially in the first half. It was important to show Gladbach that they wouldn’t be getting any points here. In the second half we kept control of the match, and that was the key today. Obviously it helped to take a lead into half time as well.
Question: Coach Carlo Ancelotti had criticised the team after the 2-2 draw in Frankfurt.
Neuer: We are our own biggest critics, and we weren’t satisfied with the way we played against Köln or in Frankfurt. We know that it was a very poor performance in Frankfurt. Our coach didn’t even have to say anything, since we knew that we were responsible. The games against Eindhoven and Gladbach were better and we are back on track.
Question: Are the outfield players given more liberties under Ancelotti?
FC Bayern München’s 2-0 victory at home to Borussia Mönchengladbach on matchday 8 ended their mini-crisis of two consecutive Bundesliga draws, while world champion Manuel Neuer had a quiet game and didn’t struggle to keep his latest clean sheet. DFB.de listened in on the interviews after the game.
Question: Mr. Neuer, following two draws in the league, Bayern dominated Gladbach today and secured a comfortable 2-0 win. Are you satisfied?
Manuel Neuer: We wanted to make amends and produce a solid and focused performance. During our recent two draws we took the lead but in the end couldn’t get the wins. You can’t keep playing the same way and expect that nothing will happen at your own end. We can’t just pass the ball around, position ourselves and hope that the opponent will eventually tire or give up - that doesn’t happen in the Bundesliga.
Question: What exactly did Bayern do better against Gladbach than in those games?
Neuer: We’ve had some very close games with Gladbach in the recent past. Today we started well and put in a good performance, especially in the first half. It was important to show Gladbach that they wouldn’t be getting any points here. In the second half we kept control of the match, and that was the key today. Obviously it helped to take a lead into half time as well.
Question: Coach Carlo Ancelotti had criticised the team after the 2-2 draw in Frankfurt.
Neuer: We are our own biggest critics, and we weren’t satisfied with the way we played against Köln or in Frankfurt. We know that it was a very poor performance in Frankfurt. Our coach didn’t even have to say anything, since we knew that we were responsible. The games against Eindhoven and Gladbach were better and we are back on track.
Question: Are the outfield players given more liberties under Ancelotti?
Neuer: For three years we worked under Pep Guardiola and we are just now starting to understand our new coach. It’s still important that defensive instincts work right away. We’ve seen our problems emerge in the past and we have to work on them every single day.
Question: Ingolstadt had held Dortmund to a draw before your game started. Did it provide an extra motivation for you?
Neuer: Not really, it wasn’t really a concern for us. For us it was important to get back on track in the Bundesliga and produce a good performance.
Question: Was it Bayern’s best performance of the season so far?
Neuer: Yes.
Question: On Wednesday, you play host to FC Augsburg in the second round of the DFB Cup. What do you expect from the game?
Neuer: We know what’s at stake in our cup game against Augsburg. We’ve played a lot against Augsburg in recent years, in the cup as well, and it wasn’t always a walk in the park. We’ve had problems in Augsburg in particular, and they will push us to our limit.
