Miron Muslic: It felt like half the stadium was Royal Blue

Miron Muslic:

It felt like half the stadium was Royal Blue, which helped us enormously, especially in the moments when Fortuna were pushing for a goal – the noise gave us a real lift. In terms of the atmosphere, it almost felt like a home game, so I want to thank our fans once again!

We definitely didn’t produce a perfect performance today. Not everything was spot on, not everything went to plan, but we stayed in the game and defended well in one or two tricky moments. As the coaching staff, we spent the whole week warning the team that Düsseldorf are far better than their league position suggests. That was clear tonight – our opponents had their chances.

We were properly in the game after 25 minutes. For me the penalty was a clear decision. We came out strongly for the second half, though after the red card we allowed one or two counter-attacks that should never happen when you’re a man up. There were also some moments where we still need to show a bit more composure. That’s another step in our development: keeping a cool head in those spells and sticking to our principles. That’s what we’re working on.

We’ve got two games left until the winter break, after which we’ll have a chance to catch our breath a bit. We’re carrying a number of injuries, which is tough, but we don’t complain – we always make the best of the situation. Paul Pöpperl stepped in for Ron Schallenberg, who had to miss out with a thigh strain. Paul earned his chance. If you put the work in, you’re rewarded. We reward performance.

Markus Anfang:

First of all, congratulations to FC Schalke 04 on the three points. I can’t blame my players. In the first half we were fully in the game and were the better side for large parts of it. Florent Muslija should have put us ahead early on.

After the penalty and the red card shortly after the break, it became difficult for us. Even then we kept going and could have equalised through Christian Rasmussen. When you’re up near the top, you win these games, and when you’re down the table, you tend to lose them. We’re simply not rewarding ourselves, we’re not scoring goals. At the moment the momentum just isn’t on our side.

Youri Mulder:

Tonight was really enjoyable, but the fact that we could be top of the table at the halfway stage in two weeks doesn’t interest me. You don’t get anything for that. We continue to think game by game. We can’t make the mistake of feeling comfortable when looking at the table. The aim is to learn something new every day and to keep developing as a side.

I’ve been top over the winter before, only to be champions for four minutes at the end of the season. What I’m trying to say is that only 15 games have been played. There are lots of matches to come still. We also saw in Düsseldorf that there are areas where we can still improve. What really stands out, though, is the team spirit. The boys stick together, they believe in themselves. If someone is out injured, the next player is ready. Everybody knows exactly what their job is. Our patterns of play are clear and that is a big advantage.

Loris Karius:

I’ve always believed in us. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t have extended my contract in the summer. I’ve always been positive. Our results are built on a lot of hard work, and at times the bit of luck you need in football. We’ve got two games left until the winter break and we want to win both of them.