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Jürgen Klopp: “Two point gap before paradise”

One point to start the second half of the season- Borussia Dortmund had a solid start to 2015 with a 0-0 draw against Bayer Leverkusen yesterday but they dropped to bottom of the table. The pressure won’t ease at all on Wednesday night (20:00 CET) as one of the favourites for the title before the season began take on FC Augsburg. Manager Jürgen Klopp gave his plan of action: “We find ourselves in a relegation battle so therefore we have to strive for perfection and not stability.” DFB.de caught up with the BVB manager in the mixed zone of the press area and at the press conference.

Question: How do you assess your side’s 0-0 draw against Bayer Leverkusen in the first game after the winter break?

Jürgen Klopp: I’m happy that we played well against a strong opposition, who have had a good start to the season. It wasn’t perfect but we did what was needed and took a good first step in the second half of the season. It would have been even better if we’d played a few more clear-cut balls. You can’t demand champagne football when you’re talking about a relegation battle.

Question: BVB dropped to bottom of the league despite the draw. Does that dampen the mood?

Klopp: I don’t care about that. What’s important is that we closed the gap on our opponents. We only have a two point gap before we can be in paradise. We’re within striking distance and that’s all that matters to me. We’ll put pressure on all those above us. Now we have to go one better against Augsburg.

Question: Your team had a pass completion rate of 43.8% and that’s the lowest for a team since 2004/05. What do you have to say about that?

Klopp: We could have maybe won with 45%. It doesn’t interest me after the game because today we used a lot of long balls in order to take advantage of the room created by Leverkusen’s pressure. We had a lot of inaccuracy. The timing has to be perfect in a tight space. We find ourselves in a relegation battle and therefore we have to strive for perfection, not stability.

Question: What did you think about the incident in Leverkusen's box when Ömer Toprak brought Ciro Immobile down?



One point to start the second half of the season- Borussia Dortmund had a solid start to 2015 with a 0-0 draw against Bayer Leverkusen yesterday but they dropped to bottom of the table. The pressure won’t ease at all on Wednesday night (20:00 CET) as one of the favourites for the title before the season began take on FC Augsburg. Manager Jürgen Klopp gave his plan of action: “We find ourselves in a relegation battle so therefore we have to strive for perfection and not stability.” DFB.de caught up with the BVB manager in the mixed zone of the press area and at the press conference.

Question: How do you assess your side’s 0-0 draw against Bayer Leverkusen in the first game after the winter break?

Jürgen Klopp: I’m happy that we played well against a strong opposition, who have had a good start to the season. It wasn’t perfect but we did what was needed and took a good first step in the second half of the season. It would have been even better if we’d played a few more clear-cut balls. You can’t demand champagne football when you’re talking about a relegation battle.

Question: BVB dropped to bottom of the league despite the draw. Does that dampen the mood?

Klopp: I don’t care about that. What’s important is that we closed the gap on our opponents. We only have a two point gap before we can be in paradise. We’re within striking distance and that’s all that matters to me. We’ll put pressure on all those above us. Now we have to go one better against Augsburg.

Question: Your team had a pass completion rate of 43.8% and that’s the lowest for a team since 2004/05. What do you have to say about that?

Klopp: We could have maybe won with 45%. It doesn’t interest me after the game because today we used a lot of long balls in order to take advantage of the room created by Leverkusen’s pressure. We had a lot of inaccuracy. The timing has to be perfect in a tight space. We find ourselves in a relegation battle and therefore we have to strive for perfection, not stability.

Question: What did you think about the incident in Leverkusen's box when Ömer Toprak brought Ciro Immobile down?

Klopp: It could have been a penalty because Toprak didn't let go. But I don’t want to get hung up on it because it wasn’t a clear penalty.

Question: What did you think of Kevin Kampl’s Bundesliga debut?

Klopp: It was good, very good. It was impressive for his first Bundesliga game. Kevin was confident, got stuck in and was technically sound.