The more and more the match went on, Borussia Dortmund got stronger and stronger, even though they played 120 minutes in the Cup on Tuesday. After the 1-1 draw at TSG Hoffenheim, Jürgen Klopp said: “the team has developed a style of play aimed at goal, they have found the right way.”

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Jürgen Klopp und Ciro Immobile

Borussia needed time to warm up, but then they got better and better. Was that the plan?

Because of the 120 minutes we played on Tuesday we first of all had to give the team the chance to get into the game without playing passively. That worked out OK. We had to run a lot to close the spaces, we did not concentrate one hundred percent when they scored. Volland should not have won the challenge that easily, even though he does this very well.

And then?
It turned into a super intensive game the more the game went on. In the first half we had to withstand one or two dangerous situations, but then we created more and more chances coming from the back. Games like this don’t always end in a draw.

The second half was a spectacle for the spectators. Can the same be said from the manager’s point of view?
I had the feeling that we found the right way to play the more the game went on. We got a second wind. The team developed a style of play aimed at goal, Ciro Immobile livened the game up. However I am not there to enjoy a game. If everyone enjoyed the game, then great. There were a lot of dangerous situations on both sides. We helped Hoffenheim more when they had a chance than they helped us when we had a chance.

How does it feel to have one point?
Just like games make you feel, when you don’t put the ball away. However I have to and I can live with this point. The ideal scenario for us will be to go above Hoffenheim in the last three games. But that won’t be easy, as we found out today…Boris Rupert