Sascha Riether: You can see we’re developing

Sascha Riether on…

…the point won at BORUSSIA-Park:

We’ve already started this campaign better than the year before. Unfortunately, in my four seasons at Schalke, I twice experienced being empty-handed after five matchdays.

…the performance of the Royal Blues:

Apart from the result, which we can live with, you can see that we are developing and growing together. But we are still at the beginning; it’s like a sapling, that still needs to grow.  Despite that, with a bit of luck, we could have taken the lead and that wouldn’t have even been undeserved at that point in the match. After the break, we were lucky that Alassane Plea only hit the post.

…the tactics:

We have the desire to win the ball. Our movement was also good. However, our offensive play was too often missing the final pass, sometimes only by a fraction. We need to work at it. But I think it is important that the fans recognised that every player is giving their all.

…the squad size in Mönchengladbach

As of this season, we can name a 20-man squad. Before, we were only allowed a maximum of 18 players. Unfortunately, some of our players are out injured, so we only arrived with 17. We could have filled out the bench with other players who wouldn’t have ended up playing, but that doesn’t make much sense in my view. For Alessandro Schöpf, for example, it was definitely more important and better for him to get match practice with the U23s than to sit on the bench in the Bundesliga.

…the first home game:

It is always difficult against Bayern Munich, but I have experienced a lot in football and know that anything is possible. We won’t shy away from the task, especially because we are playing in front of our fans in the VELTINS-Arena. It will be important to defend well and strike at the right moment.