All square in Bundesliga´s ´Battle of the Shinjis´

After their ‘Battle of the Shinjis’ ended 1-1, Borussia Dortmund’s Shinji Kagawa and Stuttgart’s Shinji Okazaki had much to reflect on.

Kagawa, who laid off the assist to Lukasz Piszczek’s goal at the stroke of half-time in the Bundesliga clash at Stuttgart’s Mercedes-Benz Arena, shed light on the crucial moment.

“It was sort of a shot,” the striker revealed.

“But I figured someone would push it in at the end.”

Kagawa also spoke highly of his pairing with striker Mario Goetze, which played a part in the goal: “Mario was great at drawing out the defenders, which freed me up to get into a lot of open spaces.”

For Stuttgart, Okazaki was left to ponder what could have been as his team’s early lead evaporated and he was substituted in the 70th minute after a fruitless effort.

“It would have been a completely different game if we’d scored a second goal,” the former Shimizu S-Pulse attacker said.

“But the goal during additional time changed everything … I was disappointed at being substituted, but since I didn’t create any big chances it can’t be helped.”

When asked about Japan team-mate Kagawa, Okazaki was full of praise.

“(Kagawa) was incredibly threatening. He (and Goetze) played really close to the goal. They played like I want to play,” he said.

“That said, neither of us scored, so we’ll see what happens next time we play each other.”