Motherwell manager Alfred Johansson expressed pride in his team's effort following their 3-1 loss to German side Freiburg in the Europa Conference League play-off first leg, acknowledging that the experience was a "hard lesson." The Scottish club took an early lead at Fir Park through Regan Charles-Cook but ultimately succumbed to a strong Freiburg performance.
Freiburg's Matthias Ginter scored twice, once before halftime and again from the penalty spot after Motherwell's Martin Moorman was sent off. Substitute Keisuke Goto added a third for the visitors late in the game, giving Freiburg a significant advantage heading into the second leg.
Despite the defeat, Johansson praised his players' mentality and adherence to their principles throughout the match. "I'm very proud of them for the way they played. The mentality they showed throughout the game," Johansson stated. He noted that the team conceded from set-pieces, an area they had discussed, but also highlighted that Freiburg created few chances in open play, even with Motherwell playing a man down for the final 30 minutes.
"All these things make me very proud to be involved with them," Johansson continued. "They can learn so much [against elite opposition]. When you train for something, whatever it is, then at some point you face a new level. When you do that you have to do everything a bit better. Whether that's guitar, chess or playing football. You need to think faster, decide and execute technically faster with more quality."
Johansson believes that exposing his players to such a high level of competition will help them adapt and improve. "That intensity and level of difficulty and level of actions which the players have done tonight, if you go on and do what we did then that intensity and quality sticks in your nervous system and will stay there. As long as you know how that works then we will profit from it in the coming months."
The manager also reflected on the team's playing style, suggesting that their first goal exemplified their best form. "These players are recruited and made for playing the way we are playing," he said. "If we look at the first goal we score, we can agree when Motherwell look their best it’s when we play like that."
He identified a dip in performance in the middle of the first half after scoring, which allowed Freiburg to gain momentum. "They did that because they’re so good but also because we became protective and didn't press as much prior to our goal. We need to be ourselves to have the best chance to get results. That’s the identity of this club and this team."
Freiburg boss Julian Schuster acknowledged that his team started slowly, allowing Motherwell to gain belief. "Our goal was to start much better. We gave Motherwell the belief to earn something today," Schuster said. He noted the confidence with which Motherwell played the ball, a quality he recognized in the team, but expressed satisfaction that Freiburg managed to turn the game around heading into the second leg.