Bayern München suffered their first defeat since Matchday 11 on Tuesday night when they went down 1-0 to TSG Hoffenheim. World Champion Mats Hummels spoke to us about the run-in to the end of the season, the Champions League Quarterfinal against Real Madrid, the DFB Pokal semi final against Borussia Dortmund and an injury update on World Cup winning goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.
Question: Mr Hummels, how do you explain the 1-0 defeat to TSG Hoffenheim?
Mats Hummels: We started very slowly and helped them get stronger because of our mistakes. We lost possession away a lot in the first ten minutes and we were too passive in trying to get the ball back. They had three really good chances and deserved the lead. It could easily have been 2-0.
Question: Bayern made the game completely different after the break.
Hummels: It was a different picture after the break. We applied more pressure and had very good chances. The chances were there, sometime we wasted them sometimes they were stopped or cleared by their defenders- We had everything there and we did everything but score. At the end of the day we played two totally different halves of football. I think we would have deserved a point in the end.
Question: What does this defeat mean in the context of the season ahead of the remaining games, with fixtures against Dortmund in the DFB Cup and the League to come as well as Real Madrid in the Champions League.
Hummels: Maybe we needed this wake-up call. It showed us that we are so much better when we are alert and actively pressing on the pitch. The behavior off the ball is as important as it is on the ball. If you are too passive when not in possession then it becomes easy to waste the possession you do have. That was the case in the first half. You could see how much we bring to the game when we lifted the tempo in the second period. We applied pressure to one of the strongest teams in the league, in their own stadium and in the final third.
Question: Does the result show Bayern are beatable?
Hummels: Every team in beatable. Even if we had drawn 1-1 or even won, no team would ever give up when playing against us.
Question: Has the momentum gone a bit after the winning streak ended?
Hummels: Maybe, but it would have been different if we had lost it next week against Real Madrid. This is why I think this loss comes at a good time. It shows us that if we let our level drop even a little bit then we are not as strong as we have been in recent weeks. We got better, but it wasn’t enough last night.
Question: How explosive could the game on Saturday against Dortmund be, despite the league position of the two clubs?
Hummels: It’s still important for me, and for the rest. We will se what happens to RB Leipzig on Wednesday in Mainz. We want to keep the lead at the top that we had at the start of the week to at least come out of a difficult week no worse off. But we will be giving verything we have against Dortmund obviously.
Question: Will you be keeping an eye on what RB Leipzig do?
Hummels: I don’t believe that it already over. As soon as it is mathematically over then it’s over. Anything is possible in Football. We have to make sure we accept the challenge from Dortmund on Saturday otherwise that cushion could be wittled down in the next few weeks.
Question: Is the BVB match a good warm up for the game againt Real Madrid?
Hummels: I think that makes the Dortmund game seem unimportant and small. We want to win on Saturday and worry about everything else after that.
Question: How important is it that Manuel Neuer is fit again for the game’s against Real Madrid?
Hummels: Let’s just focus on the Dortmund game, I don’t want to talk about the Real Madrid game anymore. We will enjoy Manu’s return, in the same way we enjoyed watching Sven Ulreich make those important saves to keep us in the game against Hoffenheim. I don’t however know how close to returning Manu is.
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Bayern München suffered their first defeat since Matchday 11 on Tuesday night when they went down 1-0 to TSG Hoffenheim. World Champion Mats Hummels spoke to us about the run-in to the end of the season, the Champions League Quarterfinal against Real Madrid, the DFB Pokal semi final against Borussia Dortmund and an injury update on World Cup winning goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.
Question: Mr Hummels, how do you explain the 1-0 defeat to TSG Hoffenheim?
Mats Hummels: We started very slowly and helped them get stronger because of our mistakes. We lost possession away a lot in the first ten minutes and we were too passive in trying to get the ball back. They had three really good chances and deserved the lead. It could easily have been 2-0.
Question: Bayern made the game completely different after the break.
Hummels: It was a different picture after the break. We applied more pressure and had very good chances. The chances were there, sometime we wasted them sometimes they were stopped or cleared by their defenders- We had everything there and we did everything but score. At the end of the day we played two totally different halves of football. I think we would have deserved a point in the end.
Question: What does this defeat mean in the context of the season ahead of the remaining games, with fixtures against Dortmund in the DFB Cup and the League to come as well as Real Madrid in the Champions League.
Hummels: Maybe we needed this wake-up call. It showed us that we are so much better when we are alert and actively pressing on the pitch. The behavior off the ball is as important as it is on the ball. If you are too passive when not in possession then it becomes easy to waste the possession you do have. That was the case in the first half. You could see how much we bring to the game when we lifted the tempo in the second period. We applied pressure to one of the strongest teams in the league, in their own stadium and in the final third.
Question: Does the result show Bayern are beatable?
Hummels: Every team in beatable. Even if we had drawn 1-1 or even won, no team would ever give up when playing against us.
Question: Has the momentum gone a bit after the winning streak ended?
Hummels: Maybe, but it would have been different if we had lost it next week against Real Madrid. This is why I think this loss comes at a good time. It shows us that if we let our level drop even a little bit then we are not as strong as we have been in recent weeks. We got better, but it wasn’t enough last night.
Question: How explosive could the game on Saturday against Dortmund be, despite the league position of the two clubs?
Hummels: It’s still important for me, and for the rest. We will se what happens to RB Leipzig on Wednesday in Mainz. We want to keep the lead at the top that we had at the start of the week to at least come out of a difficult week no worse off. But we will be giving verything we have against Dortmund obviously.
Question: Will you be keeping an eye on what RB Leipzig do?
Hummels: I don’t believe that it already over. As soon as it is mathematically over then it’s over. Anything is possible in Football. We have to make sure we accept the challenge from Dortmund on Saturday otherwise that cushion could be wittled down in the next few weeks.
Question: Is the BVB match a good warm up for the game againt Real Madrid?
Hummels: I think that makes the Dortmund game seem unimportant and small. We want to win on Saturday and worry about everything else after that.
Question: How important is it that Manuel Neuer is fit again for the game’s against Real Madrid?
Hummels: Let’s just focus on the Dortmund game, I don’t want to talk about the Real Madrid game anymore. We will enjoy Manu’s return, in the same way we enjoyed watching Sven Ulreich make those important saves to keep us in the game against Hoffenheim. I don’t however know how close to returning Manu is.
