Bayer Leverkusen earned a deserved 0-1 win over Hoffenheim on Wednesday evening, players from both sides gave their reaction to a hard-fought match.
Kevin Volland summarised a tough defeat, though was already thinking of their trip to Berlin at the weekend, "It was a really open game - both teams had chances. It was one of those games that was going to be decided by just the one goal. We also had opportunities, but Leverkusen took theirs. It's hard for us to take. In Berlin we're only interested in taking three points. Then it'll have been a decent first half to the season, but of course there's still room for improvement."
Centre-back Ermin Bicakcic had a fine game, but he couldn't prevent Stefan Kießling's goal, "We put a lot into it. Over the 90 minutes we created quite a few chances, so the defeat is even more of a disappointment. Our game plan was to be aggressive, but Leverkusen just had too much space at times."
Hoffenheim captain, Andreas Beck, was annoyed that they were not triumphant in their final outing in the Rhein-Neckar Arena, for 2014: "It was the last home game of the year and we definitely wanted to win it. It's a shame it didn't happen. Overall the game was too disjointed and we made too many mistakes."
Roger Schmidt was proud of his men, particularly the winning goal-scorer, "If you work hard, you will be rewarded, which has shown once again for Stefan Kießling and his goal. I am especially happy in such a game where he's been through the gauntlet."
Karim Bellarabi was succinct in his summary of the game, "We're taking the three points back with us from Hoffenheim. [What a] great fight. So may it continue."
Quotes via Bundesliga.com