Rummenigge: ‘We’ve dropped vital points’

Bayern were left to rue what might have been after deservedly leading 2-0 and controlling Saturday’s meeting at Borussia Park for long spells, only for Gladbach to strike twice in as many minutes and equalise with barely ten minutes remaining. Chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge was severely disappointed afterwards: “We’re guilty of carelessness. These are the matches we simply have to win.“

Reaction to Borussia Monchengladbach v Bayern:

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge: “We’re guilty of carelessness. We were comfortably in the lead and had the chances to make it three or even four. At the end of the day, we’ve only taken a point when it simply should have been three – it’s a criticism I have to make. It doesn’t mean we were arrogant, but we were a little too sure of ourselves. From the 70th minute onwards, we didn’t invest enough to wrap up the result. It’s a bad day at the office where we’ve dropped vital points. We drew 3-3 with Bochum at home, and here it’s finished 2-2. If we hadn’t dropped these four points, we’d definitely have been top of the league tonight. These are the matches we simply have to win.“

Jürgen Klinsmann: “Going home with only a point is extremely frustrating. We wanted to stop the gap to the top getting wider, but we’ll have to correct it next week instead.”

Mark van Bommel: “I don’t think we caved in. It was two separate incidents. The first came from a corner, and the second was caused by the first. It’s always hard if your opponents pull one back when you’re away from home. We played very well until conceding the first. I don’t think we lost concentration. If you analyse the game as a whole, we were much the better team, and we’ve stupidly thrown away two points.“

Philipp Lahm: “You can’t be 2-1 up and then suddenly find yourselves outnumbered in your own penalty area, that’s not on. Perhaps we thought we were home and dry and didn’t concentrate hard enough. We had the match under control and we made chances, but we didn’t kill the game there and then. Then you let in a goal, and it’s always going to be hard here after that. I think Jürgen Klinsmann will find the right words. We had a huge opportunity to take all three points here, but instead it’s a case of dropping two.“

Hans Meyer (Gladbach coach): “At 2-0 down I thought it was over. But the way it’s turned out, it’s a nice bonus for us, especially as not every team takes points off Bayern. My team did show character, and if we’d lost 2-1, they’d still have shown character. Too often, people say you only showed character if you get a result.“

Uwe Gospodarek (Gladbach keeper): “They say you should never give up, and you should always fight to the end. It’s worth it, as we’ve seen today. There’s character in the squad and you can see we work hard for each other. If one of us makes a mistake, someone else tidies up. That’s what we’ve been rewarded for today.“