Julian Brandt put on another formidable display, but in the end was left empty-handed. The Bayer 04 Leverkusen forward set up Kevin Kampl’s 1-0 opener just 61 seconds into their home match with RB Leipzig. Shortly before the break, the Germany international was on target himself and he later won a penalty for his side, which Hakan Calhanoglu then failed to convert. This was one of the reasons why Leverkusen were unable to prevent Leipzig from claiming top spot in the league table, as they fought back to earn a 3-2 win in Leverkusen. DFB.de spoke with 20-year-old Brandt on his feelings after the loss, conceding an unfortunate goal and Leverkusen’s missing consistency.
Question: Mr. Brandt, how would you put this defeat into words immediately after the game?
Julian Brandt: It’s just disappointing. We took the lead twice, which makes it especially upsetting. There’s nothing wrong with scoring an own goal (editors note: Julian Baumgartlinger scored an own-goal level the score at 1-1), that’s not a problem. But it would be great if we could hang on to a 2-1 lead for once and keep the three points here. It was agonising to concede twice in the second half. We are good at dealing with set-backs, but we can’t recover every single time. Leipzig played smart and caught us off guard.
Question: Leverkusen were handed a match point to make it 3-1.
Brandt: It fits well with the whole story, but I don’t want to blame Hakan alone for this defeat. It’s very, very unfortunate that we aren’t able to convert our penalties. Nonetheless, we have great takers and they will soon find their form from the spot.
Question: When Bayer were leading 2-1, you conceded a goal from a counter attack. What happened?
Brandt: It was a very unfortunate goal to concede. A swirling ball like that is always difficult for Bernd (Leno). He doesn’t look great in that situation, but the goal also tells us that we need to work harder on securing a lead and holding onto it for the win. The same thing happened against Darmstadt: We had a 3-1 lead at one point, but in the end it was a close game again. It would be nice to take a 1-0 or 2-0 lead and have the feeling that the opponent doesn’t stand a chance. That’s what we need to work for.
Question: Your next opponents are CSKA Moscow and Bayern München.
Julian Brandt put on another formidable display, but in the end was left empty-handed. The Bayer 04 Leverkusen forward set up Kevin Kampl’s 1-0 opener just 61 seconds into their home match with RB Leipzig. Shortly before the break, the Germany international was on target himself and he later won a penalty for his side, which Hakan Calhanoglu then failed to convert. This was one of the reasons why Leverkusen were unable to prevent Leipzig from claiming top spot in the league table, as they fought back to earn a 3-2 win in Leverkusen. DFB.de spoke with 20-year-old Brandt on his feelings after the loss, conceding an unfortunate goal and Leverkusen’s missing consistency.
Question: Mr. Brandt, how would you put this defeat into words immediately after the game?
Julian Brandt: It’s just disappointing. We took the lead twice, which makes it especially upsetting. There’s nothing wrong with scoring an own goal (editors note: Julian Baumgartlinger scored an own-goal level the score at 1-1), that’s not a problem. But it would be great if we could hang on to a 2-1 lead for once and keep the three points here. It was agonising to concede twice in the second half. We are good at dealing with set-backs, but we can’t recover every single time. Leipzig played smart and caught us off guard.
Question: Leverkusen were handed a match point to make it 3-1.
Brandt: It fits well with the whole story, but I don’t want to blame Hakan alone for this defeat. It’s very, very unfortunate that we aren’t able to convert our penalties. Nonetheless, we have great takers and they will soon find their form from the spot.
Question: When Bayer were leading 2-1, you conceded a goal from a counter attack. What happened?
Brandt: It was a very unfortunate goal to concede. A swirling ball like that is always difficult for Bernd (Leno). He doesn’t look great in that situation, but the goal also tells us that we need to work harder on securing a lead and holding onto it for the win. The same thing happened against Darmstadt: We had a 3-1 lead at one point, but in the end it was a close game again. It would be nice to take a 1-0 or 2-0 lead and have the feeling that the opponent doesn’t stand a chance. That’s what we need to work for.
Question: Your next opponents are CSKA Moscow and Bayern München.
Brandt: Those aren’t our easiest games of the season and it doesn’t make the situation any less difficult. But we shouldn’t be overwhelmed by that either.
Question: It’s as if Leverkusen are unable to find any consistency. It’s been like that the entire season.
Brandt: It’s not just this season either, it’s been like that in the past seasons here. There are always phases when everything is going great and the way people expect. Then we have games, where we lack consistency. It’s difficult to say why that is and I don’t know the answer myself. But the lacking consistency is the reason why we are struggling currently.
Question: Does it feel like a rollercoaster ride?
Brandt: Yes and that’s also the problem. Sometimes we play sensational football and at other times we produce catastrophic performances. We are a team that doesn’t have to back-down from anyone. We have a lot of potential and lots of quality in our squad. The solution to our problem is that we have to come together and start to win a few consecutive games. That would bring back the confidence. That would allow us to win close and heavily contested games like today. It was a crazy game today but in the end I will be going to bed feeling disappointed.
