Kovac: "I was very satisfied with the performance" | OneFootball

Niko Kovac on the balance of play: I think that we saw a really good game for 60 minutes. We were very committed, pressed the opposition high up the pitch, defended well and transitioned well. We had some very good passing moves and played very well in behind the defence. I was really very satisfied with the performance.

…on the roles of Karim Adeyemi and Maximilian Beier alongside or behind Serhou Guirassy:We have several scenarios in mind. We want to give everyone game time. It's important that every single player who plays also performs. And both Maxi and Karim did that. This is BVB: there's competition for places and everyone has to work for their spot.

…on the performance of defensive talent Filippo Mané:He is young. You can see his potential. Unfortunately, he was injured a lot last season. Now we're guiding him through pre-season training. He also needs to get enough playing time for the second team. These games here are helping him. He's done really well – not just today, but also against Siegen. Filippo is aggressive, very fast and plays simply. That's important for a centre-back. There's no need to complicate things when it can be simple. You can see that he has Italian roots: Filippo is uncompromising. He's someone who throws himself into the action, who sees defending as his responsibility.

…on the training camp in Saalfelden, which starts on Monday:We have a compressed pre-season and need to pace ourselves well. We have deliberately done a lot this week and will have to ease up slightly in the next two weeks. That's because we have the cup match in Essen coming up. I'm satisfied with where we are at the moment, but as a coach you always have higher expectations. We want to consolidate what we have shown over weeks and months on the ball, and off the ball too. (br)