Fantastic match, unlucky losers

Five goals, six yellow cards, one red card, dozens of chances - the Bundesliga showdown between SV Werder and Hannover had everything football gourmets look for but only seldom actually find. "The match was absolutely great. It had everything that football is about. Really great, also from my team. If we had left the pitch as winners, then I would also be satisfied," said head coach Thomas Schaaf, speaking out what most Green-Whites fans thought about the small North Derby. Bremen were so close but in the end had to leave for home empty-handed. "We saw an amazing match, a real spectacle. The game was typical for this pairing at AWD Arena with everything that football has to offer and in the end a lucky winner," said Hannover boss Mirko Slomka about the showdown of two high quality teams.

There were differing opinions of those involved after the game and WERDER.DE collected some of that reaction:

Marko Arnautovic:
"The result of the match was very bitter for us. We were asleep the first 20 minutes and then we clearly had the better chances. Hannover can thank their goalkeeper, he kept them in the game. And we are left empty-handed in the end."

Aaron Hunt:
"That was an intensive and entertaining match in which you could tell that it meant a lot. The team deserves a compliment due to the fact that we came back from an early 2-0 deficit. We got better over the course of the game. But maybe we need to be satisfied with a point and cannot give the opponents that much room. We risked too much. We cannot just display this all-out football. We have to accept this criticism."

Kevin De Bruyne: "That is very, very aggravating and dumb. After going down 2-0 we did so well to come back and really played well after our second goal. Everyone could see how well we can move the ball."

Klaus Allofs: "We saw a very, very good match. The way the team played after falling behind was good. You could sense that they wanted it. And our fans sensed that too and really pushed us forward loudly. We don't need to make a tragedy out of the result. Not everything is good but many things are getting better."

Thomas Schaaf: "I don't care at all when it happens. I am sad that we have to head home empty-handed after the great game."