A 2-0 win over PSV Eindhoven, top of Champions League Group B – everything is going well for VfL Wolfsburg at the moment. At the heart of the DFB-Cup winners’ attack was Julian Draxler. DFB.de sat down with the 22-year-old who talked to us about the win over the Dutch side, their position in the Champions League and his role in the team since his move from Schalke 04.
DFB.de: Mr. Draxler, what did you make of the game?
Julian Draxler:Very good. We might not have played our best football and we found it difficult to get into the game in the first half, but we still dominated. Based on the second half, it was a well-deserved win. We pushed harder towards goal in the second half, made better decisions in the final third and had a lot more ideas.
DFB.de: How important was it to win reasonably comfortably by two goals to nil in such a tight group?
Draxler:I for one am very pleased that Diego Benaglio saved the penalty at the end. Goal difference can be very decisive in the Champions League.
DFB.de: CSKA Moscow and Manchester United drew 1-1, you are now top of the group. What does this mean to you after three games?
Draxler:It’s a great starting position to go into the second round of games. It was our aim to keep all the points at home. That’s important if you want to make it through the group stage. We’ve now managed to do this twice in a row. If we manage to pick up a point or two in the remaining two away games, I’m very confident we can progress.
DFB.de: In two weeks you are away to PSV. In which ways are you expecting the game to go differently from today’s?
A 2-0 win over PSV Eindhoven, top of Champions League Group B – everything is going well for VfL Wolfsburg at the moment. At the heart of the DFB-Cup winners’ attack was Julian Draxler. DFB.de sat down with the 22-year-old who talked to us about the win over the Dutch side, their position in the Champions League and his role in the team since his move from Schalke 04.
DFB.de: Mr. Draxler, what did you make of the game?
Julian Draxler:Very good. We might not have played our best football and we found it difficult to get into the game in the first half, but we still dominated. Based on the second half, it was a well-deserved win. We pushed harder towards goal in the second half, made better decisions in the final third and had a lot more ideas.
DFB.de: How important was it to win reasonably comfortably by two goals to nil in such a tight group?
Draxler:I for one am very pleased that Diego Benaglio saved the penalty at the end. Goal difference can be very decisive in the Champions League.
DFB.de: CSKA Moscow and Manchester United drew 1-1, you are now top of the group. What does this mean to you after three games?
Draxler:It’s a great starting position to go into the second round of games. It was our aim to keep all the points at home. That’s important if you want to make it through the group stage. We’ve now managed to do this twice in a row. If we manage to pick up a point or two in the remaining two away games, I’m very confident we can progress.
DFB.de: In two weeks you are away to PSV. In which ways are you expecting the game to go differently from today’s?
Draxler:Eindhoven will definitely be more offensive in front of their own fans. But it’s still the same team after all. So we will be looking to take home all three points.
DFB.de: On Saturday you celebrated a win over TSG Hoffenheim, and today against Eindhoven. Has the small crisis now been forgotten about? Has your team found stability again?
Draxler:I think so. The results prior to this were really not good at all. But when you get two wins in the space of a few days, the world is a much nicer place. We’re playing better football and are slowly finding ourselves as a team.
DFB.de: Four goals against Hoffenheim, and two against PSV. Your attacking game seems to keep getting better.
Draxler:That’s true. We’ve got a lot of top quality forwards and keep finding each other better. Max Kruse and Bas Dost are both also in unbelievable form and are always in the right place at the right time.
DFB.de: How is it going for you personally? Do you feel you’ve settled into the VfL system well?
Draxler:I do think I’ve felt my way into the team well. I know the strengths and weaknesses of all my teammates and I’m always fitting in a little better every day. We’re playing with a number of different formations here as well: Sometimes 4-1-4-1, sometimes 4-2-3-1. We’re very flexible.
DFB.de: Only 20,126 fans came to the Champions League opener against CSKA Moscow, and today, again, the ground was not sold out and had only 23,375 people watching on from the stands. What did you make of the atmosphere? It can’t really compare to a home game at your former club Schalke 04, can it?
Draxler:Obviously there is quite a difference. The stadium here just has a lower capacity than Schalke’s. Nevertheless I was very pleased with the support. There weren’t that many empty seats. If we play football like we did today, then people will be happy to come to the stadium. In the next home game against Manchester United it should be full. They’re not exactly a ‘nobody’ opposition are they?
DFB.de: Another look to future games: On Saturday you travel to Darmstadt, before the midweek DFB Cup game against Bayern München. What are your thoughts in anticipation of these games?
Draxler:Obviously we want to win the games. In the Bundesliga we’re desperate to build on our win last weekend. We are back to fourth place but all the way down to tenth there is very little to separate the teams. We have to keep winning in order to close the gap at the top and keep the teams behind us at arm’s length. The Bayern game is a tough one in itself. Everything will have to fall into place for us if we want to knock them out of the cup. But our stadium will be full, and the players would obviously rather face Bayern at home than away.
DFB.de: How difficult is it to go through this phase with games in the midweek every week?
Draxler:You have to let yourself recover on the days in between in order to be fresh for the action. It’s not an excuse. Bayern have got the same busy schedule. Bayer Leverkusen, who come to play us next week are in the same position. We wanted Champions League games and we’re happy to be getting them.
