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."
Jürgen Klopp after #rscabvb: "We didn't defend perfectly, but with a lot of passion" http://t.co/alS9QMJYkY pic.twitter.com/rxHslZNcqh
- Borussia Dortmund (@BVB) October 2, 2014
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."