That was a demonstration of power: Reactions to Bayern Munich vs Schalke 04

Match reactions to Bayern vs Schalke 04

Bayern Munich grabbed 3 points on Saturday after beating Schalke 0-2 at Veltins-Arena. “That was a demonstration of power,” said Brazzo about the match. Head coach Kovač was so happy about the victory and praised the whole team for the performance that won them 3 points (AZ and FCBayern.com):

We saw a very, very good Bundesliga match today. My team were dominant over 90 minutes, they were in control and created many chances. Unfortunately they scored too few goals. A great performance! I have to praise the whole team today, what we did up front but also in defence, without the ball. We regained possession quickly when we lost it up front.

The match against Schalke was a special one for Leon Goretzka as the German international faced his former team in the Veltins-Arena. Niko Kovač, as always, was impressed by his performance. “He was very engaged, also very good,” the coach summarized.

Oktoberfest began on Saturday and Munich is in a festive mood. Although, the boss doesn't seem to think that it's a good idea for the players to attend the festival. Focusing on the games ahead is more important than celebrations at the moment:

The players know all too well what they must or must not do. If they go there, they will definitely be recognized and that, I think, will not go down very well. We’ll have time to go there, but for now we still have to win points.

Goretzka was happy about the victory. At the same time, he acknowledged his former club’s performance:

We got off to a great start, had several scoring chances right away. If the final pass had arrived a bit better, we might have had a higher lead earlier. Then Schalke did well; they press incredibly well. We positioned ourselves a bit badly particularly in the second half. I think in the end, though, we deserved to win.

Going back to the arena which was one's home for a certain period of time is always a happy thing. It was the same with Goretzka. “I had to watch out that I didn’t go into the wrong locker room,” he quipped after the game. He is one of the many players in the Bundesliga who has got lots of hate from certain fans after leaving his home club. But he doesn't regret the move and moreover was excited to go back:

The reception was what I expected. There are always certain hardliners who express their displeasure and that’s ok. But I also know I have nothing to blame myself for. I always gave it all for the club. That’s why I was incredibly excited to come back. I’m also glad that many people know to appreciate the time that I spent here. That feels really good.

David Alaba’s performance in particular was outstanding, and the Austrian international is aware of how well he is playing at the moment:

The preparation was good for me. We worked very hard. I’m in very good physical condition today. If I can bring my game onto the pitch as I intend, then it looks like it did today or in the past weeks. There’s still a little room for improvement, though.

As a minor footnote to the match, some media outlets notced that Franck Ribery left the pitch in a foul mood after he was substituted out in the 86th minute for Serge Gnabry (AZ). Kovac dismissed the incident entirely:

No, he wasn’t upset at all. I told him that he played a great game and that Serge wanted to play a few minutes too. We’re a team. Everything’s fine.