Toprak and Leno enjoy Leverkusen's attacking spirit
Thursday, October 24, 2013
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Victorious Bayer 04 Leverkusen duo Ömer Toprak and Bernd Leno hailed their side's attacking spirit, while Eduardo vowed revenge atfer the 4-0 loss for FC Shakhtar Donetsk in a fortnight.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen roared back into contention in UEFA Champions League Group A after comprehensively dismantling FC Shakhtar Donetsk 4-0.
Ömer Toprak was pleased that Leverkusen had "defended as a team" and keeper Bernd Leno enjoyed the fact that even when four goals up his team-mates were still hungry for more. Shakhtar striker Eduardo was predictably despondent, but vowed that his side would overcome the Bundesliga team on 5 November and still progress to the next stage of the competition.
Ömer Toprak, Leverkusen defender
Everyone knows Shakhtar are a good team, they showed it in glimpses this evening, and especially in attack, they pose a threat with so many Brazilians. But we defended as a team. The first goal settled us, and in the second half we were very efficient and made the most of our chances.
We are now in a very good position, but there are still three games to go, and our next match in Donetsk will be a tough one. So the group is still very open and we will have to keep our concentration in every match. It has been a tough period for Stefan Kiessling but he responded magnificently tonight. We also showed as a team that we could handle the pressure.
Bernd Leno, Leverkusen keeper
I am somewhat surprised that we won 4-0, but on the other hand they did not really create many chances and we defended very well. The last few days have not been easy for us, so we wanted to show today that we are a good side and that we deserve attention for how we play.
It is great that we beat them by four goals because Shakhtar are a direct competitor for the next round, so goal difference and the head-to-head results could be crucial. After the penalty [to go 2-0 up] we did not sit back but went looking for additional goals. Even when it was 4-0 we were still hungry for more. We really enjoyed the match this evening.
Eduardo, Shakhtar forward
We made so many mistakes and Leverkusen punished us as a result. So I would say that they did not win the game; we lost it. But we have to play each other again in two weeks' time, in Donetsk, and I believe we will win that game and still qualify for the knockout phase.
