“We didn’t hit our top level”

Daniel Heuer Fernandes: I was happy with our first 20 minutes. We controlled the game well and played with purpose going forward. We deserved to go in front, but after that we dropped off too much. We didn’t hit our top level. We knew we’d have to ride out periods of pressure against a strong opponent, but we didn’t do a good enough job of turning those moments into winning possession. That would have given us some breathing space, but we didn’t have enough of those moments.

Miro Muheim: We started with 20 really strong minutes. After that we let ourselves get pushed too deep and barely found any solutions going forward. We had very few spells where we kept the ball for any length of time. It’s hard when you’re constantly chasing – you get more and more tired and it becomes harder to close the spaces. In the second half, it was nowhere near enough from us in every respect. We were too passive. We won’t dwell on it for long though, because we’re back at it again on Wednesday.

"We have to be honest – it was a deserved defeat."

Nicolai Remberg: We have to be honest – it was a deserved defeat. The energy felt a bit off and we weren’t as sharp in the challenges as we usually are. We did go in front, but after that we could and should have managed things much better if we wanted to take something from the game. We always seemed to be a step late, and that knocked us out of our rhythm. Maybe we could have gotten another goal late on, but it wasn’t enough for a point in the end. We had to do a huge amount of defending against a team that are really strong on the wings, and that meant we didn’t have quite the same power behind the ball going forward.

Yussuf Poulsen: We weren’t at the level we’ve been at in recent weeks. We were in the game in the first half, but the second half wasn’t good from us. If you’re not operating at your very best, it’s difficult – especially against the top teams in the league. We never really found our flow and we didn’t see enough of the ball.

Merlin Polzin: Congratulations to Ole Werner and Leipzig on a deserved win. We started well, had one or two early openings and took the lead we deserved with a really well-worked move – a great assist and a top finish. The lads have done that well in training too, and part of our analysis was about hurting them in transition. After that, we didn’t manage to keep the intensity and clarity in our game. We gradually became more passive, and then the equaliser came – rightly so. In the second half we tried to get the game back on our side, but we didn’t manage it at all. They were ahead of us in a lot of areas, and that’s also down to their individual quality. We didn’t manage to use the Volksparkstadion to our advantage or create enough pressure – neither through the second half nor in the closing stages when we took more risks. If we’re being completely honest, it just wasn’t a good performance from us. We want to do better on Wednesday.