Aubameyang: I owe it all to Klopp

PIERRE-EMERICK AUBAMEYANG is ready to show Jurgen Klopp he has moved up another level ahead of a reunion with the manager he says ‘made’ him. The Gabon forward is one of Europe’s hottest properties and he showed his class again on Saturday with an expertly taken goal in Borussia Dortmund’s 3-2 win over Werder Bremen — a victory which secured his side’s place in the Champions League next season. It remains to be seen whether Aubameyang will be part of Thomas Tuchel’s squad for 2016-17 — suggestions he is destined to join Real Madrid continue to intensify, while he is coveted by a host of Premier League clubs. But first the 26-yearold is preparing for Thursday’s Europa League quarter-final against Liverpool, when Klopp will return to the Westfalenstadion for the first time since he ended his hugely successful seven-year spell last May. ‘It is great for us to have this game,’ said Aubameyang. ‘We can show Klopp we have worked hard to get back to where we were and that we have progression. I owe him a lot. It was great to work with him and he taught me many things. If I play like this as a striker now, it is because of him.’ Trailing 2-1 with 13 minutes left, Dortmund showed relentless determination to turn what promised to be a shock defeat by struggling Bremen into a win that keeps them in the title race. Aubameyang feels it was the perfect warm-up for the match against Liverpool. ‘It was very important for us,’ said Aubameyang, who has scored 23 times in the German league this season. ‘It was a difficult game, especially in the second half. They scored twice and that was a bit of a surprise. But after that we did very well. We won this game, which we needed to do, and it is really great that we are back in the Champions League.’