Pedersen: "We have to be switched on from the start"
We spoke to the Dane ahead of the clash with Bayern Munich
First Team
20.01.2021, 10:00
After time on the sidelines through injury, Mads Pedersen was back in the line-up for the second time this season in Bremen. The 24-year-old Dane discusses his return to the pitch, the first half of the season and the upcoming home match against Bayern Munich.
Mads, how did it feel to be back on the pitch after such a long time away?
Obviously that was really nice for me personally. After every injury you’re always itching to reach the day when you can finally show what you can do again. It would have been even nicer if we had come off the pitch as winners, though.
You are a really fast player. Is there anyone in the team who can keep up with you?
I’m probably the quickest, actually! But in terms of pace, our team is generally pretty well-stocked. Ruben is unbelievably quick off the mark, for example, and Iago and Frami are also really quick to cover ground. But I do think that I’d edge it in a 50m sprint.
“We have to stay focused.”
We are now 16 games into the season. How do you look back on the first half of the season?
In this first half of the season we’ve put down a good foundation to stay in the Bundesliga. We can’t let ourselves drop off now though. We have to stay focused because if you don’t watch out at this point in the season then you can find yourselves in a relegation scrap faster than you would like. But I think that we have the potential to capture a place in the top ten this season.
We face Bayern Munich next. What are your thoughts on the coming match?
Obviously we are the outsiders going into this game. We definitely have to be switched on right from the start and defend with discipline. Bayern’s defence hasn’t always been watertight in recent weeks. We need to exploit that and take the few chances that we are given.
