The reaction to the Bremen game

Markus Gisdol: We have witnessed a very intensive game today with action with a lot of twists and turns. We dominated the opening period but then Bremen came back into the match. We took a while to get going after the break but then began to dominate again and created crucial chances. We have to convert our dominance into goals. But we didn't do that. Jiloan Hamad, for example, had two massive chances – but didn't take them. But I have to congratulate Robin Dutt and his team. Their biggest worries have no gone. We actually played against twelve men – the Bremen fans were truly unbelievable today.

Robin Dutt: Their early goal from a throw in annoyed me. Hoffenheim have that extra bit of class going forward as there was lots of moments which caused us problems. Despite this, I was pleased with my team today. Everyone was up for it and you could see that in the tackles. It was an equal game on the whole and the goal to make it 2-1 was a decisive one. Hoffenheim played well and would have been deserved winners. We just had that little bit of luck that we needed. Big compliments to TSG – It's impressive how much they've evolved in the last months. It was a win against a superior opposition.

Kevin Volland: We really wanted to get all three points today and the loss is therefore very disappointing. As well as Bremen, we created good chances in the second half. Ours were a bit more clear-cut. Then we conceded a goal from a set-piece which made it 2-1 despite enjoying a good period in the game. That was unnecessary. Bremen were somewhat luckier in the second half and I feel that they didn't win undeservedly.

Sebastian Prödl: We did a lot right today. We put our fans through a lot in Mainz. We wanted to make up for it today. We had to take three points as I saw updates of the other games on the screen during the game, however I did not tell my teammates.

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