VfB Stuttgart match reaction

Julian Nagelsmann: Firstly, I’d like to congratulate VfB on their emphatic victory. We were only really in the game for a five-minute spell after the break. We didn’t force them back and relieve the pressure on our defence. Stuttgart worked hard and won the midfield battles, which allowed them to hit us on the break, which they did in clinical fashion. To be honest, they were unlucky not to score more.

Jürgen Kramny: Events in the opening exchanges made it clear that we were going to win today. We opened the scoring early on and were strong on the counter. It was important to get a second before the break. We knew that we couldn’t sit back after the interval. We were a lot more comfortable after going 3-0 up. We then let one in but fought back well. Filip Kostic’s goal to make it 4-1 was incredible. We showed a good reaction to the recent defeats today.

Eugen Polanski: The way we performed before the break played into their hands. We were too naïve, lost the ball too easily and were poor at the back. Stuttgart forced us into making errors and then capitalised on them. We were sloppy in the first half, and despite playing better after the interval, it was too little too late.

Kevin Volland: Today wasn’t our day. We made life too easy for them – they had a lot of room and were able to hit us on the break. However, if Jonathan took his chance to make it 3-2, things may have turned out differently. However, we were poor on the whole today. We need to learn from our mistakes and fast.

Robin Dutt: We showed a good reaction after the midweek defeat in Gladbach. The head coach sent out a strong team today. I was a bit nervous after they scored but those fears were soon put to rest.

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