Despite a spectacular first goal of the season from Christian Groß and a strong, fighting performance, Werder lost their final game of the calendar year. After the equaliser following the break, the visitors were able to head back home to Leipzig with a 2-1 win. “With a bit more luck, we could have got the draw. It’s tough because we could have got more from the game,” said Marco Friedl following the defeat.
WERDER.DE has summarised the answers of Marco Friedl, Leonardo Bittencourt, Christian Groß and Ole Werner:
Christian Groß: “We weren’t really in the game for the opening 20 minutes. It took us a little bit longer to get into it, but when we did, we had some good attacks. We deserved the equaliser in the second half. It’s tough to take that loss at the end of the day. Every mistake is going to punished when playing a top team like Leipzig. One thing we need to aim for is to play consistently and always give it our all in games like these.”
Marco Friedl: “We were dawdling for the opening 15 but after that we were on par with Leipzig. We did a good job and threw everything at the game. With a bit more luck, we could have got the draw. It’s tough to take because we could have got more from the game.”
Ole Werner: "It is an annoying defeat. We know about Leipzig's quality, but we made simple mistakes. Leipzig offered us something today, we could also have picked up points. However, the team's performance in the last year for a newly-promoted side has been exceptional. For most of the game we played well, but we leave empty handed because we made too many errors against such a strong team. We have to use the break to prepare well for the upcoming challenges we face. It is important for us to keep working hard. We've lost a game, so it's hard to draw a positive conclusion. I'm annoyed that in the first half an hour we didn't seems to be playing. We invited Leipzig onto us with easy giveaways and technical errors."
Christian Groß: “We have now lost twice at the end of the year. Nevertheless, we shouldn’t let that take away from what we have achieved. We should be proud of what we have achieved so far as a promoted side. The winter break will do us all some good as we can re-gather our breath and our strength.”
Leonardo Bittencourt: “The year as a whole has been great. The 15 games have been nice but, right now, I can’t really be excited. We still have a lot of work ahead of us. Nevertheless, we won’t let that diminish the good season we have had so far.”
Ole Werner: “The positive thing has been how the team has worked across this year, how they have got points the whole calendar year. Their performance for a promoted side has been exceptional. Nevertheless, we have to use the break effectively to prepare for the rest of the season.”
Christian Groß: “Hats off to the fans for that send off. It gives you goosebumps, especially considering it was a game that we lost. We had high expectations heading into the game and wanted to celebrate another win at home in front of the fans, but that unfortunately wasn’t the case.”
Marco Friedl: "The support from the fans was crazy. Not only today, but across the whole year. From the club and the team, I can only thanks the fans for their support."
