Turning point in the 25th minute

Views on the Leipzig game
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Ömer Toprak couldn’t prevent Werder from losing in the Red Bull Arena (photo: nordphoto).
First Team
Saturday, 12.12.2020 / 18:45

Werder’s bright start to the game away in Leipzig was promising and raised hopes that Kohfeldt’s team would be able to come away with something. SVW started high up the pitch and put the hosts under pressure with some good pressing work. After conceding the penalty in the 25th minute, however, the Green-Whites lost their grip on Nagelsmann’s side and on the game. “After the penalty, we gave them a lot of space in midfield,” summed up head coach Florian Kohfeldt, whose players could not hide their disappointment after the game.

On the game:

Florian Kohfeldt changed his mind on the penalty decision (photo: nordphoto).

Florian Kohfeldt: “Leipzig weren't expecting us to press so high at the start I don't think. At the beginning of the game we did well and contained them, and up until the penalty they had very few scoring chances. But after that, we gave them too much space in midfield and they go and make it 2-0. We didn’t defend that well and RB played some good football. We had a couple of opportunities, but we didn't create any clear scoring chances. When you look at the game as a whole, we played with a lot of courage and showed good commitment, but in the end it wasn’t enough. They didn’t give us much in the way of chances at all.”

Romano Schmid: “We played some good football up until the penalty. We had a few opportunities to counterattack but we were a bit hectic when we did. The penalty stunned us a bit and took us out of the game, and we didn’t really find our way back into it in the first half at all. In the end, we were a bit toothless in attack and didn’t create enough opportunities to score. I’m happy to have made my debut in the Bundesliga, but I’m not satisfied with the game overall.”

Ludwig Augustinsson: "Our plan for the second half was to come out and play bravely. We wanted to create more chances but in the end we didn’t manage that. We played well in the first 25 minutes, but then the penalty happened and it got a lot harder for us. Leipzig played well, but we fought hard. We have the chance to go again on Tuesday.”

Leonardo Bittencourt: "I felt that we played into their hands too much, and a team in the good form that they’re in will take advantage of that. If we could have kept it at 0-0, they might have gotten tired in the second half but they got themselves into the lead. We didn’t put them under enough pressure.”

Ömer Toprak: "We started really well actually and we were in the game. We tried to create chances but because of the penalty and Leipzig's possession, it became more and more difficult. After they got a second it was even harder to come back against a team as good as they are.”

On the penalty decision:

Leonardo Bittencourt was disappointed with the result (photo: nordphoto).

Florian Kohfeldt: "Sometimes you have to admit that you make mistakes. At the time I didn't think there was anything wrong with it. In retrospect, however, I would say that I was wrong in saying that the referee made a mistake. Therefore, my reaction was inappropriate and for that I apologize."

Romano Schmid: "When you watch it back after the game, it's a clear penalty. It's extremely unfortunate because we were doing so well up until then. It’s a big shame that something like that knocked us back so much.”

Ludwig Augustinsson: "You can see that I caught him, which is very unfortunate. He’s a bit taller than me and I have to win that header. And I did, but unfortunately I just caught him as well."

Ömer Toprak: "I heard several times that it was a clear penalty. It's difficult. They both jump for the header and then it all happened really fast. It was a turning point in the game because Leipzig didn't really create many chances before that."

On the next game:

Florian Kohfeldt: “We didn’t manage to get anything today, but our performance was aggressive and showed signs of progress. We intend to go into the next few weeks with the aim being to pick up as many points as possible. Fortunately, not much has changed at the bottom of the table. Except for Köln, everyone lost. Now we’ve got the game against Dortmund, and then it’s Mainz. I'm positive that we'll have a good end to the year. There’s good team morale in the squad and there’s a lot of fight. We know obviously that we could be more dangerous in the final third, but we’re working hard to improve on that.”

Leonardo Bittencourt: “We knew what to expect before the season started. It was always clear that there would be setbacks along the way. We have to keep fighting to get good results and pick up some points soon.”

Ömer Toprak: “We’re more stable than we were last season. You can see that we stay competitive in games for much longer than we did last season, and the results are always close. Nevertheless, we have to make sure that we get some points sooner rather than later. We'll go into the next game with that goal in mind."

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