“We want to complete the week perfectly”

Mark, Congratulations on the three points in Moscow!

Thank you! I found that we really earned the victory in the second half. After the break we were solid in defence and even had a few chances ourselves. We put them under a lot of pressure and with a bit of luck we were able to get the goal at the end.

Things weren’t quite working in the first half. What was wrong?

We were maybe a bit lucky to have not conceded in the first half. You shouldn’t forget that they don’t have a bad team. They have quality players. The things that we weren’t doing well in the first half we discussed at half-time and so we got better.

Weston McKennie scored his first ever goal for Schalke. He couldn’t have chosen a better time to score right?

In the second half, he was the man to watch on the pitch. Weston won the ball back for us many times in their half and so he really earned his first competitive goal of his career.

How important is the win for your confidence?

Very important. After our first win against Mainz, we showed in Moscow that we can defend well when we needed to. In the last few weeks we have conceded on but this time it did not happen.

In Group D you are level on points at the top with Porto. How well would you say things have gone so far?

I don’t want to look too far ahead, but it is clear that four points after two games is a decent start. We have to continue to focus on each game as it comes and give our all.

On Saturday you will play against Fortuna Düsseldorf in the Bundesliga. What are your aims for this game?

We want to get another win of course and finish the week with maximum points. In the Bundesliga you have to work hard to get your points. I am convinced that we will put in a good performance in Düsseldorf.