Zlatko Junuzovic: “We wanted to be compact from the start and tighten up the gaps. We fought for each other. Everyone put in 110% and it paid off today. At the end we were delighted. Hoffenheim have a lot of individual quality and are really athletic. They are always a threat so we had to stay alert throughout. We held firm and got the luck we deserved.”
Max Kruse: “We gave it our all from the off and were very aggressive. I have to say that the fans spurred us on for the whole game today. On the bench in the first half, we said that the support was amazing and it continued throughout. It was important for me personally to play for half an hour and get some more match practice.”
Ludwig Augustinsson: “It was a brilliant fighting performance from us for the full 90 minutes. It wasn’t the prettiest game of football but we won and that’s all that matters. We didn’t stop running all evening and we finally got the goal we had been waiting for. The win is really good for us. We want to build on it on Sunday and keep up that fighting spirit.”
Philipp Bargfrede: “It is a great, positive feeling. It is important that we finally got a win. It is good for us. We are not going to celebrate this evening though; instead we are going to switch our focus back to preparing for Sunday, so that we can get our first league win.”
Ishak Belfodil: “It’s been a long time since we last won a match. I’m just happy that it finally worked out today. I hope and believe that this win will give the team the self-confidence we need to push on. I hope we can celebrate many more great moments like this as a team.”
Alexander Nouri: “It was a great performance from the whole team today. Everyone fought for one another and we played with belief and a clear plan. We knew how strong Hoffenheim were going to be and that they would have lots of possession. We wanted to close down the space and when we got the ball back, push forward quickly. In the end we got the goal and the win and it is deserved for the huge effort we put in. We can enjoy the moment today but tomorrow the focus will be on Augsburg. We need to show our spirit in that game once again.”
