FC Bayern ground out a narrow but never endangered 1-0 win at FC St. Pauli on Saturday. The Munich men claimed their fifth successive victory in all competitions in Hamburg on Matchday 10 of the Bundesliga. "'You can't always win pretty, even though it can sometimes be pretty when you win 1-0," summarised Joshua Kimmich after the final whistle. Coach Vincent Kompany was also pleased to go into the international break with a victory: "It was a tough game but we did well." fcbayern.com has compiled the post-match reaction.
The reaction to the match at St. Pauli
Christoph Freund, sporting director: "There was a really special atmosphere in the stadium today, even before the game with the tifos from both sets of fans. There aren't many nicer places to play a game of football – you have to enjoy that. We really wanted to go into the international break with a victory. We've had a lot of games and intense weeks. It wasn't easy today, they were well prepared for us, but we controlled the match and didn't give anything away, even though we didn't create as many chances. In the end it's a deserved win."
Vincent Kompany: "We felt how special this stadium is. The preparation for the match wasn't easy after the Champions League game on Wednesday. We played against a team with high energy, who were very compact. Defensively we did well; that was definitely our strong point today. We weren't as effective going forward as we have been of late. They made it difficult for us. Even after we scored the goal, St. Pauli saw their game plan through. They went for it more at the end. It was a tough game but we did well."
Joshua Kimmich: "You can't always win pretty, even though it can sometimes be pretty when you win 1-0. It was a difficult game for us today but we remained patient and didn't encourage the opponents. They defended well and concentrated on defending for 90 minutes, which then isn't that easy for us. You obviously hope that the opponents play a bit and give up spaces. Unfortunately that didn't happen today, but we saw it out confidently."
Jamal Musiala: "I didn't even know I had a shot like that in my locker. I'm happy. We've been practising that in training, also from longer distances, which is why I signalled to Danksy [assistant coach Aaron Danks] and René [assistant coach René Marić]. I'm obviously delighted that the shot went in today. It's my first goal from outside the box this season. I always work on different things to improve myself. I think I've improved compared to last season. I had good games last year as well but the goals and assists were lacking. Now that's coming. I'm trying to perform at a high level over many successive matches."
Reaction from the St. Pauli camp
Andreas Bornemann (sporting director): "We didn't expect a clear win. You can only take your hat off to the team for their defensive performance. There were one or two moments that we could've made a bit more of, and then maybe we could've nicked a point. It wouldn't have been undeserved when you look at our running and defensive performance."
Alexander Blessin (coach): "If you only lose 1-0 to Bayern, you've done a lot of things right overall. We didn't allow many chances. We knew we wouldn't get many chances from open play because they just press well. We were well in the game but then Musiala comes up with a fantastic goal. We should've had better communication there. From then it's difficult. We left everything on the pitch, gave everything, so I can't criticise the team."
Hauke Wahl (defender): "We're disappointed we weren't able to get anything. We defended very well over 90 minutes. Bayern didn't have many clear chances – one or two, yes, but Bayern will always get them. The goal came from nothing, though, from giving the ball away. We also had our moments but unfortunately it didn't go our way today."
Lars Ritzka (defender): "At the end of the day, a narrow defeat is still a defeat. Regardless whether it's 1-0, 2-0 or 3-0, we're left without any points, which is a shame."
Read about the key moments in the match report:
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