"The pressure makes it all the more impressive"

Werder Bremen 0-2 Mainz 05

Niko Bungert: “We could already feel the pressure in the build-up to the match, which makes it all the more impressive how the lads handled things today. It was a very mature, composed, and controlled display. The game was defined by both teams’ tactical profiles, and neither side gave too much up. We took our chances, maintained control, and largely kept Werder away from our goal. It was a reassuring sight, but we’ve only got a short turnaround before the two important matches coming up ahead of the international break.”

Danny da Costa: “We’re all just thrilled. Anyone who’s looked at the table as of late knows how massive this is. We kept a clean sheet, and we scored two goals without it ever really getting tense for us. Everyone gave it their all today. You could feel that everyone was ready to put the yards in and also cover for each other’s mistakes. That shows our togetherness, as does the way we celebrated. From my own experience, I know that Silas’ injury is a nightmare. And we shouldn’t forget Benedict Hollerbach either, who’s been out for a long time but still messages the team before every match.”

Paul Nebel: “It was just instinct for that goal. Phillipp’s ball was a good one, I connected with it well, and I’m glad it set us up in a good position for the rest of the game. We wanted to win this one for all of us, but also for Silas. That’s why we dedicated the celebration to him with his shirt. I hope he saw it and it made him happy. We were proactive for almost the full 90 minutes, did everything to defend our goal and that’s why we deserved to win with a clean sheet. Now we’ll start preparing for Thursday, we want to make sure we progress to the next round in front of a home crowd. I already can’t wait to run out in a special kind of atmosphere.”