The Bundesliga’s top fixture on matchday 25 was an intense, exciting and high-quality encounter. Both teams created chances, as Borussia Dortmund looked to close the gap on table-toppers FC Bayern München at Signal-Iduna Park. Ultimately the German Classico ended in a goalless draw and the question now is: did Bayern drop two points and miss out on a chance to decide the title race, or was the draw a good result for the record champions? World Champion Thomas Müller had an answer to our question in this interview with DFB.de.
Question: Mr. Müller, how do you rate the draw in Dortmund?
Thomas Müller: I’m not the type of person who is satisfied with 0-0 draws. But for the situation we are in it’s acceptable. But I still didn’t come here to pick up a 0-0 draw.
Question: Did you manage to prevent Dortmund’s charge for the top of the table?
Müller: I think we showed what we are capable off today. We managed to put in a good performance here in Dortmund. It’s not easy to come and play in front of a crowd like that against such a strong team. It felt quite good during the game. Dortmund had two chances to counter attack in the first half, but after the first 15 minutes, in which we lacked organisation at times, we managed to control the action quite well.
Question: Were you surprised to see Dortmund have more possession at the start of the match?
Müller: No. Everyone knows that Dortmund aren’t a team purely geared towards counter attacking, they look to play when they have the ball. We made a mistake at the start of the game when we pressed them in their own half. We made a tactical change to a five-man line and that improved our game drastically.
Question: Did you expect Dortmund to play with even more aggression?
Müller: They had a lot of attempts, but they didn’t play against the Easter bunny today, they played against an in-form FC Bayern side. Based on the run of play, we might’ve deserved a 1-0 victory a bit more than BVB. The draw is not completely undeserved, but I think we looked a tad sharper.
Question: Was it still an important step towards the title?
Müller: We did take a step towards the title today, but it’s still a long way ahead of us. We have to approach our next games accordingly. Our competition for the title is very strong this season.
Question: Was your performance in Dortmund today a reaction to the 2-1 home defeat against Mainz?
Müller: Yes, definitely. We went pretty close to our limit today, as we played with a lot of intensity and confidence. Everyone wanted to have the ball, there was no fear and we attacked well.
Question: What was the situation like for the team prior to this game?
Müller: One thing is certain: If your lead at the top of the standings is reduced to five points in the game prior to facing your big competition, the pressure definitely rises. That’s why I’m happy about the way we played and the attitude we showed. We didn’t allow the situation to intimidate us. We showed exactly the reaction that I expected. This should give us confidence and momentum going into our next games.
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The Bundesliga’s top fixture on matchday 25 was an intense, exciting and high-quality encounter. Both teams created chances, as Borussia Dortmund looked to close the gap on table-toppers FC Bayern München at Signal-Iduna Park. Ultimately the German Classico ended in a goalless draw and the question now is: did Bayern drop two points and miss out on a chance to decide the title race, or was the draw a good result for the record champions? World Champion Thomas Müller had an answer to our question in this interview with DFB.de.
Question: Mr. Müller, how do you rate the draw in Dortmund?
Thomas Müller: I’m not the type of person who is satisfied with 0-0 draws. But for the situation we are in it’s acceptable. But I still didn’t come here to pick up a 0-0 draw.
Question: Did you manage to prevent Dortmund’s charge for the top of the table?
Müller: I think we showed what we are capable off today. We managed to put in a good performance here in Dortmund. It’s not easy to come and play in front of a crowd like that against such a strong team. It felt quite good during the game. Dortmund had two chances to counter attack in the first half, but after the first 15 minutes, in which we lacked organisation at times, we managed to control the action quite well.
Question: Were you surprised to see Dortmund have more possession at the start of the match?
Müller: No. Everyone knows that Dortmund aren’t a team purely geared towards counter attacking, they look to play when they have the ball. We made a mistake at the start of the game when we pressed them in their own half. We made a tactical change to a five-man line and that improved our game drastically.
Question: Did you expect Dortmund to play with even more aggression?
Müller: They had a lot of attempts, but they didn’t play against the Easter bunny today, they played against an in-form FC Bayern side. Based on the run of play, we might’ve deserved a 1-0 victory a bit more than BVB. The draw is not completely undeserved, but I think we looked a tad sharper.
Question: Was it still an important step towards the title?
Müller: We did take a step towards the title today, but it’s still a long way ahead of us. We have to approach our next games accordingly. Our competition for the title is very strong this season.
Question: Was your performance in Dortmund today a reaction to the 2-1 home defeat against Mainz?
Müller: Yes, definitely. We went pretty close to our limit today, as we played with a lot of intensity and confidence. Everyone wanted to have the ball, there was no fear and we attacked well.
Question: What was the situation like for the team prior to this game?
Müller: One thing is certain: If your lead at the top of the standings is reduced to five points in the game prior to facing your big competition, the pressure definitely rises. That’s why I’m happy about the way we played and the attitude we showed. We didn’t allow the situation to intimidate us. We showed exactly the reaction that I expected. This should give us confidence and momentum going into our next games.
