Thomas Tuchel coached his team to a seventh successive victory and in doing so, he won the 147th Ruhr derby. “We were convinced of our quality,” said the Manager after their seventh win on the trot. 

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Thomas Tuchel on his first derby:
At the final whistle I felt what the derby is all about. Before we were very focussed on the bench and very quiet. The team, too, made a very quiet and focussed impression. We were convinced of our quality.

... on the match:
In the first half we were dominant, quiet and patient. Though it did take a while until we began to possess more territory. The goals we scored were lovely but through our own misfortune and misunderstandings we also conceded two goals. In the second half I felt we were playing more freely and more naturally, we got a better grip of the tempo and we pushed high up the pitch. We defended high up, played in a dominant fashion and created a lot of high profile chances. At this stage 4-1 was in the air and it would have been well deserved. But at 3-2, it was suddenly a different game. We showed respect to Schalke’s quality and lost sight of our own strengths in offensive positions. 

On the end of the match:
I found the last 10 to 15 minutes of the match even more striking. It was great to see us playing with so much trust and courage. In the fourth minute of added time we didn’t let Schalke have any more chances. It was a really good experience, and just as well that everything went well in the end. I’d like to pay a huge compliment to my team. 

On the goals conceded:
Keeping a clean sheet is tricky. I would like the two goals we conceded to be considered in isolation. It doesn’t make much sense to look for regularities which don’t exist. At 1-1, Mats defended exactly as what was required. It sets Mats apart, playing the ball forward after having won it back. Perhaps in this instance he made the wrong decision. The second goals conceded happens maybe once every 6 months. I can live with this sort of goal, because there was no system behind it, and because we had defended so well until then. 

On his absence from the south stand:
The fans come because of the players, who worked their socks off for 94 minutes for the victory today. It’s all about the team today and that's the way it'll be. 
Report by Boris Rupert