Piszczek: "A goal and an assist - I'm happy with that"
Stuttgart - For around 24 minutes it looked as though it was going to be a relaxed afternoon for Lukasz Piszczek. Handed a well-deserved rest by Borussia Dortmund boss Jürgen Klopp, the Polish right-back was just settling in to an entertaining encounter away to VfB Stuttgart when a high foot from Martin Harnik shattered the unsuspecting nose of Marcel Schmelzer.
No sooner had Piszczek removed his tracksuit, warmed up and entered the fray was he on the scoresheet, flicking Marco Reus' curling free-kick into the far corner for his second career goal against the Swabians. Dortmund eventually won a tumultuous affair 2-1 and afterwards, bundesliga.com sought out the man who broke the deadlock...
bundesliga.com: Lukasz Piszczek, it didn't look as though you had much time to warm up and prepare yourself for today's game...
Piszczek:(Laughs) No, that wasn't possible. I ran up and down the touchline three times and that was it.
bundesliga.com: Just five minutes later you headed Dortmund into the lead and then set your fellow countryman Robert Lewandowski up for the winner. Surely enough to earn you the Man of the Match award, right?
Piszczek: Thank you. A goal and an assist - I'm happy with that. We all did well as the game progressed, but that was Stuttgart's fault.
bundesliga.com: How do you mean?
Piszczek: We've always struggled against Stuttgart in the past and it was no different this time. Tackles are part and parcel of football, but VfB overdid it, and they were punished by [Georg] Niedermeier's red card - and by us. It was only a question of time before we scored the winner.
bundesliga.com: Indeed, Stuttgart certainly put in an aggressive display - does that make the victory all the sweeter?
Piszczek: I wouldn't like to say. I think every win is sweet, even if it wasn't easy this time and I got a few kicks along the way.
bundesliga.com: How is the hip injury you've been carrying for the last few weeks?
Piszczek: It's okay. I'm just going to try and soldier on until the end of the season.
bundesliga.com: Next up it's Malaga in the quarter-finals of the Champions League...
Piszczek: ...which is going to be an interesting match. Malaga are going to be tough opponents and I hope 'Schmelle' [Marcel Schmelzer] can play despite his injury. That would be good.
bundesliga.com: Your compatriot Jakub Blaszczykowski could also be available after recovering from a groin injury...
Piszczek: I hope so. 'Kuba' is an important player for us.
Henrik Lerch reporting from Stuttgart
