Wolfsburg planning pays off for Kellermann

Ralf Kellermann, Wolfsburg coach
We put in a masterly tactical performance. The atmosphere was great and we're all just delighted. It's very important we have a trophy and we've beaten the best team. The main thing is that our plan worked. We had injuries, players who were ill – Alexandra Popp had barely trained, for example, but played right through. We wanted to play deep, sit back, and then go on the counterattack. There was a phase in the first half where it was wave after wave of Lyon attacks, but we held firm and we've won the cup.

[Popp] usually plays as a striker but she started as a left-back with Duisburg and it was very important we had her there tonight. She's very good in the air and that's important against Lyon. I didn't think she'd make it, but the doctors and physios got her fit. [Ivonne] Hartmann also gave a great performance, but the main thing is that the team as a whole performed. Every time we defended well, or went forward, we grew in confidence and that's what made the game.

I wanted to stick with the first XI we'd used for a long time. Had we conceded a goal we'd have reverted to plan B – but luckily I didn't have to put that into action.

This was a really good game for a goalkeeper and Alisa Vetterlein had a great match, she had a real aura about her. As an ex-goalkeeper myself, I'm really pleased with her display. If we'd played with our normal lineup [player of the match Lena Goessling] would have been in the back four; instead she played in midfield, dictated the tempo of the game and did a great job. But I don't want to praise one player – we were a real unit and that’s what won us this match.

At Wolfsburg we have the players and a very good infrastructure already. You have to develop always, clearly, but we have that in place already. We're always trying to strengthen the team and we'll continue to do that, but I'm very happy with our development as a whole.

Patrice Lair, Lyon coach
We're very disappointed – when you lose a game, that's always the case, even if we don't lose very often. We didn't do what we needed to tonight. We weren't effective enough – we didn't pose enough of a threat. Eventually they managed to get the goal.

I can't criticise my players – we just lacked a bit in the final third, we needed to put our foot on the ball a bit more. Certain players in our team weren't at their usual level, but that can happen. They've given me such a lot over such a long period of time that I can't reproach them for that.

We upped the tempo, but when you don't take your chances that doesn't matter. We started to come back into the game [in the last 15 minutes of the first half], Amandine Henry might have scored from a corner, so I wasn't overly concerned at half-time, but when you don't score you can be punished – and then obviously we had the handball and were punished.

We tried everything – we played with a defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder, two players out wide and two strikers as we tried to equalise. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. We didn't really get enough players into the penalty area. That's usually one of our best traits, but we didn't really do it tonight.

We didn't play as we should have done, so I don't want to look for excuses. We're going to prepare for our final game in the league and try to bounce back as quickly as possible. I was a god for two and a half years; now, after this defeat, perhaps I'm an idiot.