A relieved and relaxed Jürgen Klopp spoke in the aftermath of the derby win over Schalke of a “perfect afternoon”. From the first minute to the last his team had let the ball do the talking whilst pressing high up the field. The coach did, however, flag up a small warning, “We are still just five points above the drop zone and cannot afford to let things slip.”

So, how did you see the game today?

It was quite simply a perfect afternoon for us and a properly good performance from my team. From the first minute to the last we let the ball do the talking, found good space and pressed our opponents high up the field. We had so many chances in the first half alone but were sadly unable to take advantage.  It was so important that we didn’t let that bother us. We started the second half where we left off in the first and finally, on 77 minutes, we got the reward we deserved.

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What will you take from the game?

The game served up so many special moments. The celebrations by Auba and Marco, but even better was Mikki’s goal at the end. I think the whole team wanted to jump on top of him! He played so well today. And yet, when I look at the table in the morning we will still only be five points above the danger zone despite having won four games in a row. That just goes to show just what a mess we had got ourselves into and we cannot afford to let things slip again.

What were your thoughts after the first half?

We were actually quite relaxed in the dressing room. That’s just the BVB way, I guess. All for one and one for all over the full 90 minutes. No, seriously, though; I am so proud that we maintained our progress, the way we played today and that we left no stone unturned in pursuit of victory. We learnt all the right lessons from our previous games and applied them quite perfectly today.

Do you have anything to say about Marco Reus and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s goal celebrations?

I was surprised, certainly not in on the joke. The positive thing was that Auba was so confident that he would score today. But such a thing draws yellow cards and of course, I am less happy about that. I think we must have gone through the whole mask thing by now. It is a little uncomfortable having to say to him that he can’t do that sort of thing. But it really shouldn’t happen.

And Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s goal?

The game in Turin was so important for him. And today he took yet another step forward. Defensively it was his best game yet in a Borussia shirt. It was so crucial that that he set the tempo and was assured in possession. We were all waiting for him to score. Perhaps a dam has been broken?