Thomas Müller: 'A lot of energy and enthusiasm on show' | OneFootball

Having come from behind to lead, FC Bayern were held to a 2-2 draw against Borussia Dortmund in Saturday evening’s Klassiker. Nevertheless, the players and staff tried to take the positives from the game and immediately turned the focus to the Champions League quarter-final second leg against Inter Milan this coming Wednesday. “Overall there was a lot of energy and enthusiasm on show, but of course it was also a game of missed opportunities,” summarised Thomas Müller. Head coach Vincent Kompany added: “Despite the setbacks, there are no negative thoughts at the back of our minds. We keep going, we remain dangerous – we can draw strength from that.” fcbayern.com has gathered the rest of the post-match reaction for you.

The reaction to the Dortmund match

Max Eberl (board member for sport): “In the last few games we’ve had a lot of goalscoring opportunities but not got the rewards. Both on Tuesday and again today, we were punished with the opponents’ first attack. Then we turn the game around and conceded a needless goal after a set piece. Nevertheless we went back on the attack after that, but didn’t convert the chances. In summary, we need too many chances and are being punished too severely at the back.”

Vincent Kompany: “The first goal completely changed the game. The Dortmund from the 4-0 defeat in Barcelona were no longer recognisable after going 1-0 up. Up until then, however, we had the game under control and had some chances. After going behind, as a fan I would’ve been pleased to have a ticket – as a coach I couldn’t be happy with that. I’m glad we’re still six points ahead of Leverkusen at the end of it. It’s clear the belief is there, the mentality is there. Despite the setbacks, there are no negative thoughts at the back of our minds. We keep going, we remain dangerous – we can draw strength from that.”

Thomas Müller: “We don’t need to talk about us somehow having not enough energy or not seeing that we were absolutely determined to win the match. In the end, our effectiveness wasn’t at the level we expect. Nevertheless, it was probably a great game for the fans in particular. Overall there was a lot of energy and enthusiasm on show, but of course it was also a game of missed opportunities.”

Harry Kane: “I think we can live with the point. It was an intense match, both teams had chances. We were solid in the first half, didn’t concede much but also didn’t create much going forward. The second half was more open, we took more risks and were more vulnerable at the back. Having said that, we scored two nice goals, which we have to take away with us. At the end of the day, it was a match that could’ve swung either way. It was certainly attractive for the spectators. Now we have to take it one match at a time, give it everything and then we’ll see how valuable this point was at the end.”

The reaction from the Dortmund camp

Lars Ricken (managing director): “We came here in eighth place. In that respect, I think we saw, particularly in the second half, the fascination this fixture can still have. It was really up and down, either side could’ve won it at the end. I think it was very good Saturday evening entertainment.”

Niko Kovač (head coach): “We achieved what we set out to do: we wanted to keep it tight and defend well. In the first half that was decent, although I wasn’t pleased with our football. In the second half we started well and got the opening goal. Then we saw a good game from both teams, with chances here and there. We’re pleased and hope to build on this in the next matches.”

Waldemar Anton (defender): “We definitely wanted more at the end. There’s still room for improvement but we’ll take the point. Who knows how useful it might be in the end. The plan was certainly to not concede for as long as possible. I’d say we defended pretty well in the first half, but didn’t really get going in attack. When we did get the ball, we often lost it quickly. We need to be calmer there and do the simple things better.”

The match report:

Dominant Bayern held by Dortmund