‘We have to lick our wounds'

They tried everything, never gave up and presented Bayern with tangible problems after half-time. However, Bayer 04 had to settle for a 4-2 defeat in the cup final against the team from Munich. Although disappointment is always massive after losing a final, the Leverkusen players could leave the pitch with their heads held high because they offered a courageous fight against the favoured and clearly dominant Bayern team particularly in the second half. Here is some reaction to the match.

The FC Bayern chairman of the board Karl-Heinz Rummenigge also acknowledged the impressive Leverkusen performance in the second half: "We were 3-0 up but then if Bayer had made a better job of a couple of their attacks then we could have faced real problems."

Goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky was obviously inconsolable after his blunder when Lewandowski made it 3-0. "We played against the champions and the two goals before the break set us back. Then we switched things around and were much better in the second half. Unfortunately, my mistake ruined everything."

Simon Rolfes also clearly looked pained by the final defeat. "We let too many things slip and Bayern were better than us today. We had ambitious targets and wanted to win here. Now we have to lick our wounds and get over our disappointment in the coming days. One thing is clear: We still intend to do big things in the Europa League," said the sporting director.

The assessment of coach Peter Bosz was as follows: "Bayern were the better team over 90 minutes. But we had our chances including in the first half where we had to play a better final ball. And if we had taken our clear-cut chances then it could have been a really tight game. But I don't want to criticise: The lads gave their all and tried everything."

Captain Lars Bender said: "We weren't in the game at the start. We lacked courage, confidence and experience. Then you go behind and it's incredibly difficult. Perhaps you could see that it was the first final for one or two of us. We had our chances but unfortunately didn't take them."