"Proud of the team's performance"

SV Werder Bremen fought tirelessly on matchday 31 of the Bundesliga season, earning a 1-1 draw away at VfB Stuttgart. Everyone following the German top-flight knew the Green-Whites would have to show resilience against one of the league’s top sides, and afterwards there was a real sense of pride in the way Stage, Lynen and co. had stood firm. We gathered the key post-match reactions here.

Head coach Daniel Thioune: “We spoke beforehand about the fact that we hadn’t picked up any points against the top teams this year. Not many sides have taken anything from Stuttgart this season, so I’m very happy with the point, it’s a successful result for us. It doesn’t change too much in the table, but it feels good. I’m very proud of the team’s performance. We knew we’d have to withstand a lot, but we matched the occasion. With a bit more of a let-off and a bit of luck, we may even have been able to get more out of it, but at least we didn’t come away empty-handed. Now our focus shifts to Augsburg, and we hope we can do right by a home crowd next week.”

Managing director for sport Clemens Fritz: “We showed courage today, came here full of belief, and you could see we wanted to get something out of the game. But this is nothing we can rest on yet. I’ll happily repeat it: the important thing is that we stay focused on ourselves.”

Goalscorer Jens Stage: “The team put in a really strong performance. We were good in the first half and looked dangerous going forward. We knew how tough it would be against Stuttgart, but also that we’d get chances, just like last season. After the break, Stuttgart showed their quality and brought on some fresh legs. But we kept fighting right until the final second. It was a tough match. After the derby win, we wanted all three points again, but the key thing now is to use this momentum and play our football with confidence.”

Goalkeeper Mio Backhaus: “Given how the game went, we can be satisfied with the point. We knew we were up against a very strong side. Everyone had the desire to defend our goal. A few months ago, that maybe wasn’t always the case, but right now everyone is putting their body on the line. That’s what defines us as a team and helps us pick up the points we need. We have to take every single point in the relegation battle, and we hope we can get the job done next week. I expect the teams around us will pick up points as well, so we can’t afford to ease off.”

Bundesliga debutant Maximilian Wöber: “Taking the whole 90 minutes into account, we have to accept the point. Stuttgart pinned us back for long spells, but we gave it everything we had. In one or two situations, we could have been a bit more clinical, but all things considered, it’s an important point in the relegation battle. Next week, we want to wrap things up with a home win. That said, it’ll be another hard-fought game against Augsburg.”

Olivier Deman: “Stuttgart had the upper hand for most of the game, but we didn’t let them generate many clear-cut chances. When you fight like that for 90 minutes, it does hurt not to take all three points. We did well in the first half; in the second, we were lacking a bit. But I can’t fault the team, everyone gave it their all. We’re making good progress, and now we turn our focus to Augsburg.”

Senne Lynen: “We started solidly and defended well in our one-on-ones all across the pitch. We had good chances ourselves and didn’t give much away. At the end of the day, though, Stuttgart are a Champions League side with a lot of quality. Even if there was more to be taken today, we have to be satisfied with the 1-1. We’re in a phase where every point counts, and today’s result has helped us move above a number of teams, so it could prove to be a very important one.”