Ingolstadt match reaction

Alexander Nouri: “I’m happy for the team, the fans and everyone who was involved. We’ve already given away a 1-0 half-time lead four times this season, today we fought for the three points with passion, a lot of heart and the support from the fans. In the first half I would have wished for another goal but the reaction to the free-kick goal, which you can’t defend, pleased me. Ever player was convinced we’d win today.

Zlatko Junuzovic: “In the first half, our performance was good, in the second it was so-so. Overall, we had the game under control for around 65 minutes but at the end it was unfortunately close again. We have to stop the opponents getting chances then, but the three points are by far and away the most important thing today.

Max Kruse: “That was a first step in the right direction today. The fight, desire and concentration were right and we played well at times. Of course at the end of the game you could sense the team were nervous, but it was very important to get the three points today, that’s what counted. After a streak of five winless games it’s obviously a relief, especially as it was against an opponent we're in direct competition with. After conceding unluckily we needed something but you saw there was life in the troops.”

Fin Bartels: “It was obvious it was never going to be a top-quality football match and FCI did everything to take points home with them. However, you also saw that we wanted to win at all costs, we also gave everything. We had luck on our side, the win was hard-fought.

Frank Baumann: “We said that the only thing that mattered today were the three points and we got them. The team did well over long periods. We had good spells with the ball, but also less good periods, therefore we can’t overvalue the win. Tough games await us until the end of the year and we can’t just hope we’ll win points sometime in the spring. We can’t let up and have to continue earning points.”

Alexander Nouri: “Izet’s injury is a huge dampener on this victory. We’ve paid a price to earn this victory. Izet is a team player and somebody with a lot of heart, who enjoys a strong reputation in the dressing room. As a result we are all saddened by this. An exact diagnosis is yet to be provided but it looks like a bad knee injury.”

Max Kruse: “I haven’t spoken to him but it didn’t look good at all. I hope it doesn’t turn out to be too bad.”

Fin Bartels: “Izet fought back after a difficult phase in his career and has had many good moments during this season. He is an excellent footballer and I hope that he isn’t out for too long.”

Frank Baumann: “It looks like an injury to his knee but we need to wait for a diagnosis to find out the exact details. It makes no sense to send him to hospital this evening. He’ll have scans at the beginning of next week.”