#KOETSG match reaction: “We never gave up”

Julian Nagelsmann: “It was very tricky because Köln defended differently to how they usually do and surprised us with that. We didn’t always exploit the space on the pitch and we didn’t put enough pressure on them. Köln were much deeper in the second half and we put a huge amount pressure on them in the final 20 minutes and we got our chance in the final minute. I think the way we played towards the end merits a point and we will happily take that. We are delighted that we have qualified for Europe but we want to give everything until the end of the season and achieve all we possibly can.

Peter Stöger: It’s a shame that we conceded at the end otherwise I would have been really satisfied. We performed brilliantly against a team who a rightly high up in the table. We defended well for much of the match and my team really put their hearts into it.

Alexander Rosen: It was a late equaliser. Emotions are still running high but it was once again an illustration of the mentality of this team that we can still come back with just seconds remaining. It wasn’t our best game but we got this point through commitment and desire which is what did it for us in the end. And now we have achieved something special and we are obviously thrilled about that. There are still more points to get and we will throw everything at these final few games to add to the 55 points we now have. We don’t want take take our foot off the gas.

Sebastian Rudy: We battled right until the end and gave everything. We tried to play the way we like to and to play it round at the back but we let our concentration slip on a couple of occasions and that can happen. Then Köln started to get into the game more but I think it was still a good performance from us. Regardless of whether we’ve secured our place in Europe or not, we want to win our remaining games.

Oliver Baumann: It is still a weird feeling so soon after the end of the game but behind the scenes we are all celebrating. However we cannot actually be completely satisfied with the game but we showed incredible morale even in the dying embers of the match and fought hard for that point.

Kerem Demirbay: We’ve written history today but we can still right more. We’re going to keep our feet on the ground and see what happens. We’ll try to perform at our maximum in every game. Then we’ll see what we can achieve. 

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