There were few positives to take from the 2-1 loss to Eintracht Frankfurt, but one of them was the return of Leon Goretzka.
After finally managing to rid himself of COVID and injury, Goretzka made his return after halftime, coming on for Marc Roca. Even though Frankfurt managed to nab three vital points, Goretzka’s return to the middle of the park gave his side a much-needed spark.
Bayern boss Hansi Flick gave his thoughts on Goretzka’s return as he spoke to AZ:
“We currently have many injured players or those who are out with Corona. Leon Goretzka’s comeback was good for us because he was extremely aggressive and won the ball a lot,” Flick said, before speaking about Goretzka in glowing terms. “Leon was someone who took the team along with him and radiated positive energy, which he transferred to the team. That’s why it was very important that he was available to us again.”
The player himself was pleased with his return to the pitch and took to his Instagram page to let his feelings be known.
“I’m lucky that it (Coronavirus infection) was mild for me. I feel fit again,” he told ZDF.
Goretzka also gave his thoughts on the overall performance and conceded that the damage that was done in the first 45 minutes proved decisive.
“We went missing in the first half. If we’d given the performance in the second half from the beginning, we would have definitely won the game,” he said.
🗣️ @leongoretzka_: “We will look to provide answers on the pitch in the upcoming games.”
Photos from #SGEFCB 📸 #MiaSanMia pic.twitter.com/v19dZMYn8Z
— 🏆🏆🏆FC Bayern English🏆🏆🏆 (@FCBayernEN) February 21, 2021
The loss to Frankfurt was the twelfth match this season in which they have conceded the first goal, however this time they were unable to reel in their opposition despite a vastly improved second-half effort.
“It was a top game today. Being present in the game is usually FC Bayern’s greatest quality. Today it wasn’t the case,” Goretzka said.
Despite the loss, the Bayern midfielder stated that the team will be back to winning ways soon enough.
“We will look to provide the answers on the pitch in the coming games. We’ve dropped five points in the last two games. Now it’s tense again. We’ll make sure we step on the gas again and pick up points,” Goretzka said before giving fans hope for the upcoming weeks.
Leon Goretzka is expected back in the starting lineup against Lazio on Tuesday.
Goretzka: “I was lucky that the illness was very mild for me. I feel very fit now.” [Bild] pic.twitter.com/aULLGXOkU9— Sextuple winners 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 (@iMiaSanMia) February 21, 2021
“In the next few weeks, some players will be back, so we’re not worried.”
