Interview
"We're developing well and having a very good spell"
Despite labelling the opening stages as "sluggish", Thomas Tuchel was ultimately delighted with the deserved 6-2 victory over Bayer 04 Leverkusen. However, an injury to Marco Reus, who will miss the clash with Benfica on Wednesday evening, took the shine off the win.
Thomas Tuchel on the balance of play:
"It was a difficult game for us. We were a tad sluggish and didn't play with enough speed in the opening stages, because Leverkusen were defending high up and compactly. We struggled to find solutions. Nonetheless, we were still effective at the beginning, took a quick 2-0 lead and had the chance to kill the game completely through Auba."
...on Leverkusen's toughness:
"It was a tight game because Leverkusen never gave up. We had to work hard in defence to prevent chances being created early on. We always had a quick answer to Leverkusen pulling goals back, then scored some great goals and were always ready, even in those phases that were not easy. It feels like a deserved victory. It's extraordinary that we managed to score six goals playing in such a set-up."
...on BVB's accuracy in front of goal recently:
"We beat Leipzig 1-0 at home and needed penalties to prevail against Hertha, even though on both occasions scoring four to six goals was not impossible. The match against Leipzig was an enormous boost for our self-confidence. It showed us how we're capable of performing, how dangerous we can be and that we have answers against aggressive opponents, which had previously been a problem for us. The match against Darmstadt was the only exception. For weeks now, we have been creating a lot of opportunities. We also had a lot of clear-cut chances against Freiburg and Wolfsburg. You can see that we have confidence, that we're focused and taking it step by step. At the moment we're developing well and having a good spell."
...on the injury to Marco Reus:
"It's sad news, because he's ruled out for Wednesday. He has a muscle injury in his thigh which he sustained during a long sprint. It's a blow for us. In the opening stages today, Marco was the one who constantly got us going, who took the responsibility, who was alert. He has been incredibly stable for weeks now, he's been playing at a high level and is an important character to have on the pitch. The fact he can't play on Wednesday is a huge loss and takes the shine off the win.."
Recorded by Christina Reinke