Football
Stephan Uersfeld, Germany correspondent 9y

Jurgen Klopp: Borussia Dortmund lucky but passionate at Anderlecht

Jurgen Klopp feels Borussia Dortmund's defence were "lucky" but played with passion to collect their second clean sheet in the Champions League this season with a 3-0 win at Anderlecht on Wednesday.

Dortmund are five points clear of third-placed Galatsaray in Group D just two games into the 2014-15 European campaign, having beaten Arsenal 2-0 in the opening fixture.

BVB have yet to keep a clean sheet in six Bundesliga games, but Klopp feels their fine defensive work is the "icing on the cake" of another win.

"We were a bit lucky in some situations," the BVB coach said, and also expressed his worries about veteran midfielder Sebastian Kehl, who took a bad knock in the second half.

Though the victory never was in real danger due to Dortmund's superior individual class -- especially in attack -- BVB were fortunate to not concede a goal against Anderlecht, who hit the inner side of the post once and came close to scoring on other occasions as well.

"For a coach, [a clean sheet] is basically the most important thing," said Klopp, who rested captain Mats Hummels until late into the second half.

"We didn't defend perfectly but with a lot of passion, and we 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."

That was in part down to Sebastian Kehl: the 34-year-old, who is set to retire from football in the summer of 2015, returned from a muscle injury suffered in the Arsenal match a fortnight ago, and impressed in holding midfield.

Yet midway through the second half, Kehl took a knock to his ankle, and could be out for Dortmund's crucial match against Hamburg at the weekend.

"Although I'm not a superstitious person, I would rather not say anything about him before I talk to him and know how his ankle is doing," Klopp said of the former BVB captain. "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."

Kehl was also not too convinced he would win his fitness race before Saturday, saying after the game: "The foot has swollen up a bit. The problem with periods of three games a week is that you only have two or three days to get an injury under control.

"Hopefully it will not swell up too much and I can be available for selection on Saturday. That is all I can say at the moment. We have to back this victory up with three points in the Bundesliga."

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