Toppmöller silences critics

Bayer 04 Leverkusen coach Klaus Toppmöller was delighted to silence the critics who spoke of a crisis at the BayArena by beating RC Deportivo La Coruña 3-0 in the UEFA Champions League.

Emphatic win
Having lost 4-0 to Juventus FC in Turin on Matchday Seven and suffered defeat in their last 1. Bundesliga game, there was talk of problems behind the scenes, but with an emphatic win against Deportivo, Toppmöller was pleased to have an opportunity to answer the doubters. “All the people who talked about a crisis at the club after we lost our last two games are silent now,” he said. “We have played two important games in the last week but tonight we played a compact game, we were strong and we won.”

Zé Roberto inspiring
The coach singled out the inspirational Zé Roberto who opened the scoring for Leverkusen with a spectacular free-kick after 64 minutes, saying: “Zé Roberto was the best player on the pitch.” Toppmöller opposite number, Deportivo’s Javier Irureta, could only agree. “I have to say that Zé Roberto was very strong,” he said.

Individual errors
The Deportivo coach refused to accept that his side had been naïve in attempting to beat Leverkusen by playing on the break, and said that he thought his side had cancelled the hosts out in the first half. “In the first half both teams were equal and it was a very tactical game,” he said. “In the second half, they scored two goals from set-pieces and there were individual mistakes by my players. For the last 30 minutes, Leverkusen was really the better team.”

All square
With all of the sides in Group D having played two games and won one each, it is all square leaving both coaches with plenty to think about as the Champions League enters its winter break. ”Now all of the teams in Group D have three points so we must win our home games next year,” concluded Irureta. “After losing in Turin, now we have a real chance to reach the quarter-finals,” said Toppmöller.

’We are back'
Matchday Eight was certainly a happier day for Leverkusen goalkeeper Hans-Jörg Butt than Matchday Seven. After conceding four goals in Turin, he had almost nothing to do on Tuesday night and was delighted to tell reporters: “Deportivo had no chances to score. We are back in the Champions League.”