Jurgen Klopp said he hopes the freak own goal scored by Christoph Kramer to give Borussia Dortmund their first league win in almost two months can kick-start their season.
Germany international Kramer's own-goal from almost halfway gifted Dortmund a 1-0 win at home to Borussia Moenchengladbach on Sunday as the hosts earned their first win in eight league matches.
The victory moved Dortmund off the foot of the table and up to 15th, and Klopp said he would gladly have that goal become a turning point for last season's runners-up.
"It's been such a long time without a win that I can hardly find the words," said Klopp, whose side have endured their worst ever start to a Bundesliga season.
"We have finally got into double figures in terms of points.
"If that turns out to be the win which opens the floodgates, then I'll take it.
"It was an exceptional game for such a situation. It was a deserved win and a great feeling."
Klopp spoke to Kramer on the pitch after the game and said he had both thanked and commiserated with the 23-year-old.
"Christoph Kramer unwittingly took his place in our little story, but he's an exceptional player and this goal will be just a side note in his life," added Klopp.
"It was a strange goal for him, but an important three points for us.
"We'll keep fighting and keep working, we need to enjoy this win, but there is still so much work left to do.
However the win failed to mask another poor display of finishing from Dortmund, whose stunning European form bares little relation to their Bundesliga performances this season.
Borussia again failed to transfer their stunning Champions League goal-scoring form, where they have banged in 13 in four games to reach the last 16, to the domestic matters.
They failed to convert any of their 22 shots on goal, while restricting Gladbach to just a single chance, before Kramer's decisive error.
The defensive midfielder misjudged a long-range back pass from near the halfway line which went straight over the head of his goalkeeper Yann Sommer on 58 minutes.
Germany winger Marco Reus, who was outstanding throughout, almost made it 2-0 just moments later when his shot clattered the post.
The defeat was Moenchengladbach's first of the season and left leaders Bayern Munich as the only unbeaten side in the Bundesliga.
"Dortmund deserved the win," admitted Gladbach coach Lucien Favre.
"They were better than us and created a lot more pressure.
"We were lucky that it was still 0-0 at the break.
"The goal came at an unlucky point in time for us as Dortmund didn't have so many big chances afterwards."
After Freiburg and Werder Bremen had both picked up wins on Saturday, Dortmund had dropped to last place for the first time in seven years, but Sunday's win gave them a valuable three points.
The win came at a price, however, as centre-back Sokratis Papastathopoulos picked up his fifth yellow card of the season which means he is suspended for the away match at Paderborn in a fortnight.
With captain Mats Hummels injured, Klopp will have to name a make-shift defence in that game.
Source: AFP
