He scored one and created another: Shinji Kagawa enjoyed a dream return in a black and yellow dress. “He already was an influential figure,” said Jürgen Klopp in praise of the Japanese midfielder. Reactions to Kagawa’s return.

Shinji Kagawa: “The fans gave me a warm and fantastic reception before kick-off. That’s why I really wanted to win this game today, and I’m happy that it worked out. I had goose bumps for the entire match. We have a deep squad with a lot of quality. If we work really well together, we can be a force.”

Jürgen Klopp: “It was good, it was actually very good for a first game. He had a lot to deal with in the last couple of days, and I think he dealt very well with it and put in a good performance. He got a cramp today which is a good sign. Shinji already was an influential figure, and that’s really cool.”

Sebastian Kehl: “Shinji is good for us, very good, especially considering our injury problems. That he even manages to score a goal is something that you only see in football. But you could also see that he still needs a bit of time when he came off the pitch totally exhausted after 60 minutes. He still has a bit of catching up to do to keep pace with us.”