Following the final whistle Jürgen Klopp and Ciro Immobile fell into each other’s arms after the Italian had scored the opener just before the break, thus laying the foundation stone for BVB’s fine 2-0 win over Arsenal. The Italian’s all-round performance was hugely impressive.

Jürgen Klopp explained, referring to the enormous amount of work Immobile and his strike partner Aubameyang had done hounding Mertesacker and Koscielny and the numerous chances they created, “What those two guys did was simply outstanding!”

He felt that the Italian, in particular, had returned from international duty with a renewed confidence, “It’s a tough time to be a striker. We have so little time to put quality work in on the training ground and Ciro has put himself under some pressure but he has returned from Italy with a new freedom,” said Klopp.

A sprint half the length of the pitch

Naturally the main talking point was the Italian’s immense sprint across half the field just before the break finished off with a strike of cool precision for the opening goal. The way he skipped past Gibbs and Koscielny was world class. Klopp said, “I thought at first that he was heading into a cul-de-sac but then he switched the ball from right to left foot and, well, it doesn’t get better than that. A great goal, a great player.” 

Ciro Immobile was, understandably enough, happy with his first competitive goal for BVB, “I am so, so happy that we put on such a great performance and that I was able to score a goal. I was so keen to score a goal from that position before half-time. I am happy to be able to make this club, these fans happy,” he told Sky TV.