“We created more and better chances and picked up a deserved win in a game that started perfectly for us,” was how Jürgen Klopp summed up the match against Anderlecht. “And in the second half we put the game out of reach.”

How important was it to not just win this game, but win it and keep a clean sheet?

For a coach, it’s basically the most important thing. We didn’t defend perfectly, but with a lot of passion and were also a bit lucky in some situations. We created more and better chances and picked up a deserved win in a game that started perfectly for us. In the second half we put the game out of reach. Keeping a clean sheet was the icing on the cake.

Did things go according to plan?

Our goal was to keep Anderlecht from showing their quality. We often managed to do that but not over the entire 90 minutes. We dominated stretches of the game and were difficult to defend against. For 75 minutes, we had to work really hard. We had to push ourselves to the limit. In the second half there was a phase of play where the game was very close, but the two goals sealed the game.

How important was the return of Sebastian Kehl to the team?

Although I’m not a too superstitious person, I would rather not say anything about him before I talked to him and know how his ankle is doing. He took a bad knock. I can talk about his importance for the team when I know if he’s available to play in the next couple of games.