Bayern München will head into the winter break in first place in the Bundesliga. The German champions secured their spot at the top of the table with an emphatic 3-0 victory over RB Leipzig, running rings around the strong newly-promoted team.
Bayern’s world champion Mats Hummels was one of the most influential figures in the match at the Allianz Arena. The 28-year-old let nothing through the Bayern defence as he sported his new blond hair, much to the surprise of the fans. Hummels speaks to DFB.de about his team’s strong performance and his new hair-do.
Interviewer: Mr Hummels. What was the key to this convincing 3-0 win?
Mats Hummels: There were a lot of things. We were really intense right from the beginning. We didn’t allow Leipzig to get into the areas that they wanted to. We almost completely stopped them from winning balls and quick counterattacks. We did a good job and played some really good football going forward. Just down the right-hand side alone, we beat their defenders three to five times brilliantly through Arjen Robben. We simply played brilliantly and can be very happy with the game.
Interviewer: Does the red card for Emil Forsberg need to be discussed at all?
Hummels: I’m always conflicted about situations like these. It was a tactical foul but it is also a slide tackle from behind. I think it could have gone either way.
Interviewer: We of course have to speak about the blond hair. How did that come about?
Hummels: I lost a bet. I wouldn’t have chosen to do that myself.
Interviewer: How long do you have to have it for?
Hummels: At least a week. We’ll see how it looks when I wash it out. I have no experience with this. I’ll ask a few women how long it lasts for.
Interviewer: How do you look back on your first six months with FC Bayern?
Hummels: I think I can be very pleased personally. I’ve settled in, both on the pitch and in the changing room. I think I’ve consistently put in good performances, so everything is going well.
Interviewer: And your assessment of the team as a whole?
Hummels: We had a couple of shaky moments when we failed to win in three matches. Apart from that we can be satisfied on the whole. It’s not easy to get 39 points after 16 games. That is a good record. The match against Rostov in the Champions League sticks out a bit as a negative. Otherwise it has been ok, so the first six months were not perfect but good on balance.
Interviewer: Just again on Leipzig – How strongly did you feel challenged by the newly-promoted side?
Hummels: We knew that could only pass this test with a performance like that. We executed everything we wanted to do defensively and going forward. It was just a really good game for us. We won the ball brilliantly in midfield. Those are the small things that help you take out the opponent’s belief. The result was pretty much decided once the red card was shown.
Interviewer: Was that first half the best of the season so far?
Hummels: You could put it like that considering how strong Leipzig are getting.
Interviewer: Do you believe that Leipzig can keep up for the rest of the season after this defeat?
Hummels: That is definitely possible but so many factors play a role. We obviously play a big role in that ourselves. We just have to do our homework but Leipzig’s team deserve a lot of credit because they have enormous quality and they definitely have the tools to stay at the top.
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Bayern München will head into the winter break in first place in the Bundesliga. The German champions secured their spot at the top of the table with an emphatic 3-0 victory over RB Leipzig, running rings around the strong newly-promoted team.
Bayern’s world champion Mats Hummels was one of the most influential figures in the match at the Allianz Arena. The 28-year-old let nothing through the Bayern defence as he sported his new blond hair, much to the surprise of the fans. Hummels speaks to DFB.de about his team’s strong performance and his new hair-do.
Interviewer: Mr Hummels. What was the key to this convincing 3-0 win?
Mats Hummels: There were a lot of things. We were really intense right from the beginning. We didn’t allow Leipzig to get into the areas that they wanted to. We almost completely stopped them from winning balls and quick counterattacks. We did a good job and played some really good football going forward. Just down the right-hand side alone, we beat their defenders three to five times brilliantly through Arjen Robben. We simply played brilliantly and can be very happy with the game.
Interviewer: Does the red card for Emil Forsberg need to be discussed at all?
Hummels: I’m always conflicted about situations like these. It was a tactical foul but it is also a slide tackle from behind. I think it could have gone either way.
Interviewer: We of course have to speak about the blond hair. How did that come about?
Hummels: I lost a bet. I wouldn’t have chosen to do that myself.
Interviewer: How long do you have to have it for?
Hummels: At least a week. We’ll see how it looks when I wash it out. I have no experience with this. I’ll ask a few women how long it lasts for.
Interviewer: How do you look back on your first six months with FC Bayern?
Hummels: I think I can be very pleased personally. I’ve settled in, both on the pitch and in the changing room. I think I’ve consistently put in good performances, so everything is going well.
Interviewer: And your assessment of the team as a whole?
Hummels: We had a couple of shaky moments when we failed to win in three matches. Apart from that we can be satisfied on the whole. It’s not easy to get 39 points after 16 games. That is a good record. The match against Rostov in the Champions League sticks out a bit as a negative. Otherwise it has been ok, so the first six months were not perfect but good on balance.
Interviewer: Just again on Leipzig – How strongly did you feel challenged by the newly-promoted side?
Hummels: We knew that could only pass this test with a performance like that. We executed everything we wanted to do defensively and going forward. It was just a really good game for us. We won the ball brilliantly in midfield. Those are the small things that help you take out the opponent’s belief. The result was pretty much decided once the red card was shown.
Interviewer: Was that first half the best of the season so far?
Hummels: You could put it like that considering how strong Leipzig are getting.
Interviewer: Do you believe that Leipzig can keep up for the rest of the season after this defeat?
Hummels: That is definitely possible but so many factors play a role. We obviously play a big role in that ourselves. We just have to do our homework but Leipzig’s team deserve a lot of credit because they have enormous quality and they definitely have the tools to stay at the top.
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