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Dejan Ljubičić: We showed what we are capable of as a team
Dejan Ljubičić proved his worth once again on Sunday (26/4), scoring two goals as the Royal Blues came from behind to beat SC Paderborn 07. The match-winner gave us his thoughts at full time.
A poor clearance found its way to the feet of Dejan Ljubičić in the 82nd minute of Saturday’s game. The 28-year-old made no mistake and calmly slotted the ball home to score his second and Schalke’s third, completing the comeback. “Luckily the ball found its way to me and I struck it well,” said Ljubičić afterwards. “I’m very happy for the team and the club as a whole that we won today. We can celebrate now, and then we’ll focus on Düsseldorf from Monday.”
The game couldn’t have started much worse for the versatile midfielder, who saw his team go 2-0 down after 26 minutes. “We weren’t really there at the start. We weren’t active enough, and everything went against us,” said Ljubičić, reflecting on the opening phase.
“This club is so full of emotion. That’s why I chose to come here.”
The midfielder played a key role in his side’s comeback victory, steering Moussa Ndiaye’s cross in to make it 2-1 (35’), before Adil Aouchiche equalised five minutes later. “We played good football after the first 30 minutes and won our challenges. We showed what we are capable of as a team.”
Important contributions
Schalke improved greatly after the break and took control of the game. Ljubičić’s goal shortly before the end was a deserved reward for their efforts. The 28-year-old proved his worth to the Knappen once again, having already registered two assists in the recent home game against Preußen Münster. His contributions don’t end there, as he also set up Moussa Sylla’s winner in the top-of-the-table clash with SV Elversberg and won the Royal Blues a point with his incredible strike against SpVgg Greuther Fürth at the end of February.
The Austrian has become a key player for Schalke in a short amount of time since his move from Dinamo Zagreb. “This club is so full of emotion. That’s why I chose to come here,” he explained. The win was a “big step in the right direction,” but with three games remaining, the focus now switches to Düsseldorf on Saturday (2/5): “It’ll be a fantastic evening game at our stadium and we’re really looking forward to it. I know the boys well enough to know that full focus will be on the game. We’ll see what happens afterwards.”
