Before the game at 1860 Munich, RWE sports director Christian Flüthmann talked about the current table situation, the away weakness and the many last-minute goals.

Red-White Essen has often shone this season with goals in injury time. A total of eight points have been secured in this way after regular playing time. “It’s no coincidence,” says sports director Christian Flüthmann, who spoke on the “MagentaSport” microphone before the Essen team’s away game about the Red-Whites’ late-game strength.

“When they won their first two games in stoppage time, we said, ‘Well done, they did well,’ but now we can say, ‘That’s a sign of quality’,” emphasized the 41-year-old. The best example of this is the late 4-3 win over Freiburg, when Nils Kaiser in the 89th minute and Moussa Doumbouya in the 90th minute turned the game around. “We were superior on the pitch, had chances, but were suddenly 2-3 behind. Then you see that the players stay calm. They don’t lose their nerve, but enforce their style of play and stay completely focused,” praised Flüthmann. ”Of course, it’s nice to see that.”

Nevertheless, the sporting director is also aware that “there is still a lot of work to be done.” In particular, the focus is on the number of goals conceded – only SC Verl (35) in the top 10 has conceded more than RWE (33) – and the lack of away form. While no other third division team collected more points at home, they are only ranked 14th in the away ranking before the catch-up game in Munich. “It’s not a big issue, but of course it bothers us,” admitted Flüthmann.

“What is striking is that we concede an early goal in many away games,” analyzed the sports director. ”We have to work on being there from the first minute and not being intimidated by the atmosphere.”

But even without the points left on the road, the team is in a “very comfortable” position in the table. “We’re happy with where we are, but we’re still humble about it,” explained Flüthmann, who also made it clear: “That doesn’t mean we’re holding back, for God’s sake – we’re already focused and motivated – but there’s still a long way to go.”