Guirassy: “A perfect start to the playoffs”

Sebastian Kehl (in the mixed zone): "I'm happy, but at the end of the day I'm still realistic because I know we've only played the first half (in the play-offs with home and away legs, ed.). We have a very, very difficult task ahead of us next week in Bergamo. You could see today that Atalanta are a good team and that they will be a challenge for us over there. It was a close game at times. We didn't give much away overall, but we have to be prepared for a huge fight next week. We have to be on our toes from the first minute – only then will we progress to the next round."

Niko Kovac (to UEFA.com): ‘I'm very satisfied – we played good football, scored two goals and worked well in the second half. We worked very hard on a few things and pulled them off well tonight. Serhou Guirassy scored a goal and provided an assist, which is exactly what we need.”

Julian Brandt (in the mixed zone): "Basically, we're happy with the game. We were very active and moved very well. We knew that Atalanta would defend one-on-one. We moved out of position a lot, which led to Maxi's (Beier, ed.) goal. We were able to run into space and play the ball. I would have liked us to have added another goal in the second half. I think we had one or two more chances that we could have taken. A 2-0 lead is a bit tricky. But it also gives you a bit of security because you've kept a clean sheet and scored two goals. Overall, we're satisfied and will go to Bergamo next week full of confidence. Serhou (Guirassy, ed.) is back to doing what he does best!”

Serhou Guirassy (on Prime): "We were stuck in traffic for an hour and 15 minutes, so we had to get changed very quickly in the dressing room. We didn't even have ten minutes to prepare. But we got off to a good start. Today, I scored again with my head after a very good cross from Julian Ryerson. I think that's a perfect start to these Champions League play-offs.‘