Schalke were unable to score a goal against a well-organised opponent. As a result, there was a huge sense of a disappointment following the final whistle in Leverkusen, signalling a 1-0 defeat for the Royal Blues. schalke04.com has collected the thoughts from the players.
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar:
We didn’t link up with each other enough. We tried to deal with Leverkusen’s pressing in the first 15 minutes and made use of long balls. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to really apply ourselves throughout the game. It was a tactical battle with few goalscoring opportunities for either side. Ultimately, a set piece decided the game. We simply didn’t play enough football. We couldn’t win the second ball often enough and we weren’t able to produce any dangerous moments as a result.
Benedikt Höwedes:
We knew that we needed to be a little more direct to minimise the impact of Leverkusen’s pressing. The plan was going well, but then Leverkusen scored a wonder goal; no keeper would have stopped it. After falling behind, we didn’t see enough of the ball or create enough chances. We have quality players, so we need to be a bit cleverer in our play. Leverkusen attacked us strongly and instead of countering we used the long ball a bit too often. Despite that, I think we played well and are heading the right direction; we’ll pick up points in the coming weeks for certain.
Max Meyer:
The game was even for the majority of the time. Leverkusen found the bit of quality needed to open the scoring. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find an equaliser. I hoped that I would be able to create something once I came on. I will be giving it my all in training this week in the hope of impressing the coach.
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