Leno: Obviously, it’s an honour when Oliver Kahn says something like that. If such a world-class keeper and legend says it, then there has to be something to it.
DFB.de: Before the game people said it would a moment of truth. Where did the team get their confidence from?
Leno: It’s no secret that the team are confident. We played well in Augsburg. Then we had a lapse in concentration during the first half against Wolfsburg and played really badly. The second half was really good though. We just had a minor crisis in terms of results because the Augsburg keeper scored in injury time and we dropped points in the last minute. We know to put our performance into context though. You saw the team’s desire to win in the Atletico game.
DFB.de: You could be critcised you for not taking your chances though…
Leno: Everyone would have taken a 1-0 win before the game. During the course of the match, we felt we could’ve got more though. Atletico were one man down and that should have been our cue to get a second goal. We needn't complain. We had the impression no one really expected us to win against Atletico. That’s why we’re really happy with how things played out.
DFB.de: How do you see your chances in the second leg?
Leno: We’ve got an excellent chance to progress. We won and kept a clean sheet. However, we’re not through yet. If we manage to deliver an equally good performance in the return leg, there's a good chance we'll go through to the quarterfinals. If we manage to score in Madrid, it’ll be hard for them. We’re very solid defensively. We’ve left an impression on Atletico, but we know that Spanish teams and Atletico in particular are extremely strong at home. It’ll be a hard-fought second leg for sure.
DFB.de: After watching the game, you start wondering why you didn’t play like that in the last few weeks.
Bernd Leno and Bayer Leverkusen went into the last 16 Champions League off the back of a few up-and-down performances. The first leg against Atletico Madrid saw the team find their old form though and win 1-0. Bernd Leno’s spectacular saves were crucial to the success over the Spanish Champions and Champions League runners-up. In an interview with DFB.de, the Germany Under-21 goalkeeper looked ahead to the second leg and discussed his performance that was praised by ZDF pundit and former World Goalkeeper of the Year Oliver Kahn.
DFB.de: Bernd Leno, you won the first leg in the last 16 of the Champions League against Atletico Madrid 1-0. What did you make of your team’s performance?
Bernd Leno: We were the better team and played really well against a side that are tough to defend against. Atletico took a cautious approach and played a lot of long balls, because they have Mario Mandzukic up front and he’s excellent in the air. We expected them to try and be quicker on the counter. We found a good solution though and put pressure on them in the final third. They created a few chances but in the end of the day our win was well deserved.
DFB.de: You were the one that denied them most of those chances. Your save against Tiago just before the break was especially impressive. Sporting director Rudi Völler called that a “world-class reflex”. Are you especially satisfied with your own fantastic performance?
Leno: My top priority was getting back to form. I've had to deal with a few unfortunate goals scored past me in the last two games and could’ve done better on those occasions. That’s the life of a goalkeeper though. Still, it feels good to have made a couple of saves to keep a clean sheet. I enjoy that and so does the entire team.
DFB.de: How do you deal with your mistakes?
Leno: They play on your mind, of course. I’m still very young though and I try to see positives in them. Mistakes are part of the business. I’m at a point where I’m working on my game, trying to take a more attacking approach, and mistakes are part of that too. We analyse them, but I definitely won’t backpedal now. I’ll continue playing this way. I know I still have scope for improvement.
DFB.de: Oliver Kahn called your performance world-class.
Leno: Obviously, it’s an honour when Oliver Kahn says something like that. If such a world-class keeper and legend says it, then there has to be something to it.
DFB.de: Before the game people said it would a moment of truth. Where did the team get their confidence from?
Leno: It’s no secret that the team are confident. We played well in Augsburg. Then we had a lapse in concentration during the first half against Wolfsburg and played really badly. The second half was really good though. We just had a minor crisis in terms of results because the Augsburg keeper scored in injury time and we dropped points in the last minute. We know to put our performance into context though. You saw the team’s desire to win in the Atletico game.
DFB.de: You could be critcised you for not taking your chances though…
Leno: Everyone would have taken a 1-0 win before the game. During the course of the match, we felt we could’ve got more though. Atletico were one man down and that should have been our cue to get a second goal. We needn't complain. We had the impression no one really expected us to win against Atletico. That’s why we’re really happy with how things played out.
DFB.de: How do you see your chances in the second leg?
Leno: We’ve got an excellent chance to progress. We won and kept a clean sheet. However, we’re not through yet. If we manage to deliver an equally good performance in the return leg, there's a good chance we'll go through to the quarterfinals. If we manage to score in Madrid, it’ll be hard for them. We’re very solid defensively. We’ve left an impression on Atletico, but we know that Spanish teams and Atletico in particular are extremely strong at home. It’ll be a hard-fought second leg for sure.
DFB.de: After watching the game, you start wondering why you didn’t play like that in the last few weeks.
Leno: We still need to work on our consistency. There are spells in the game where things don't go to plan. That happens too often and for too long and that’s how we've given away points. Mistakes are punished immediately. That’s why adding consistency to our game has to be our top priority. If we manage to put that into practice against Atletico, we’ll remain in the Champions League.
DFB.de: Does that win provide tailwind for the upcoming weeks?
Leno: We won in a convincing manner. We’re facing a completely different opponent in another competition on Saturday, so it’s difficult to say whether we’ve got a tailwind or not just yet.
