No-one at FC Bayern was entirely satisfied after a 2-0 defeat in Saturday evening’s top clash away to Bayer 04 Leverkusen, although the men from Munich did come away from the Rhineland with a few positive thoughts. “No-one getting injured was closest to our hearts. That was the most important thing of all,” remarked Manuel Neuer. Pep Guardiola said he was “satisfied with the performance we turned in.” The Bayern boss also praised the clutch of youngsters who stepped up to the challenge.
Reaction to Bayer v Bayern
Pep Guardiola: “It was a very hard-fought and evenly-matched game. We needed to create more clear-cut chances. I’m very satisfied with my team and the performance we turned in. The young players also did very well indeed.”
Manuel Neuer: “We didn’t take our chances to score when we had them. You can always fall behind to a free-kick when there’s such a good taker on the pitch. No-one getting injured was closest to our hearts. That was the most important thing of all.”
Simon Rolfes (Bayer Leverkusen captain):“We kept it tight and were aggressive. Maybe we needed the free-kick from Hakan [Calhanoglu] to open it all up a bit. We all expected to win provided we turned in a top-class performance.”
Hakan Calhanoglu (Bayer Leverkusen): “I was determined to score against Manuel Neuer from a free-kick. You’re even more delighted when you do it against the best keeper in the world.”