“We saw lots of good things”

Thomas Tuchel on the first half:

We needed a bit of time to get into the game and find our footing, which is understandable given that we had made a lot of changes to the team. In regard to Christian Pulisic and his pace and courage, we found a lot of gaps when on the attack and we were able to play out a few decent chances. In the middle of the first half we lost a bit of the control, didn’t use space brilliantly and didn’t play strongly enough.

… on the second half:

The second half was better for us; we played more dominantly and with lots of determination. We went into the lead twice and were in a good position but unfortunately our opponents equalised quickly twice.

…his derby conclusion:

We saw lots of good things. I was very pleased about Illie’s comeback and both Christian Pulisic and Adrian Ramos’ performances. It was an intense game, but it was ok.

…on Christian Pulisic:

He’s a teenager in his first year of professional football. His first two games in the starting eleven were in Leverkusen and here today in Schalke – not the easiest of tasks. It shows our huge appreciation that we see him as a full time player on our team. He was a valuable substitute against Werder Bremen and Liverpool. He has looked really good recently which has been proved today. It is completely normal that he could not have played with this pace and this intensity for over 90 minutes.

…the impact of the Liverpool game on the derby:

The two Liverpool games have played a role, of course. I already had an idea of the line-up in my head. Today we wanted to defend with the back three and to dominate on the wing because we knew that Schalke were strong in the air and on the wing. In the 48^th game of the season, I knew we were reaching our limit. I know there were a lot of changes but with each video analysis it felt better that we could make good ones after 60 minutes. We believed in the line-up 100% today and this has been justified today.

Reported by Boris Rupert