After Schalke’s 1-0 home win over Arminia Bielefeld on Friday (6/3), head coaches Miron Muslic and Mitch Kniat shared their thoughts at the post-match press conference. In the Mixed Zone, captain Kenan Karaman and Mertcan Ayhan also reflected on an intense 90 minutes at the VELTINS-Arena. schalke04.de round up all the post-match reaction.
Miron Muslic:
There were a lot of things I loved about our performance today. Even during the warm-up, there was an energy in the stadium that told us this place was ready to erupt – all it needed was a spark from the team. We then came up against a side who, like us, define themselves through intensity. Between the two teams, there were 120 kilometres covered in the first half alone. That’s what intensity and mentality look like.
We found the breakthrough before half time and created plenty of chances after that as well. The opportunities were absolutely there for us to score a second after the break. At times we worked them really well, and at others we were denied by were simply outstanding saves. It is part of the game that it can get dangerous towards the end, especially with Arminia so strong from set pieces. Even so, we defended everything that came our way. I think the win was fully deserved. Now we move on.
Mitch Kniat:
It was a very interesting game and it went from end to end. You can’t really call it a 50-50 match – Schalke had the better chances and Edin Džeko took his straight away. We threw everything at it in the second half, but then went through a spell where we were facing a lot of set pieces and shots. That’s when the second goal could have gone in. The equaliser would have been a big help to us, unfortunately though, there was an offside in the build-up to the goal. The way we’re playing is right, but if you don’t score, it becomes very difficult to win matches. We’re disappointed today. From Monday, we’ll focus on picking up points again.
Kenan Karaman:
We saw it out well today. When you’re 1-0 up, it can always get dangerous late on. But our defence did a really good job. I have to give a big compliment to the lads at the back. Going forward, we had some very good chances to make it 2-0. Arminia blocked a lot and Jonas Kersken made some good saves. Even so, we had a good balance between defence and attack and managed to keep a clean sheet. That’s important for the back line and something we can build on.
Mertcan Ayhan:
It was a hard-earned win. In the end, with the disallowed offside goal, it became tighter than it really needed to be. We had enough chances to put the game to bed earlier. I’d have loved to score my first Schalke goal from that corner today, but if Edin keeps taking up positions like that, I’ll happily head the ball onto the bar again next time. As long as it ends up in the net, that’s all that matters. Over the course of the season, I haven’t always been the one attacking corners in the middle – most of the time I’ve been staying back to cover. Our corners are really dangerous. It’s no coincidence that we create so many chances from set pieces. Everybody in the box knows exactly what they have to do.