Borussia Dortmund cannot achieve their ambitions without Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, says head coach Thomas Tuchel.
Aubameyang was omitted from Dortmund's squad for the midweek 1-0 victory over Sporting CP in the Champions League for "internal reasons", reportedly due to the striker attending a party in Italy without authorisation.
However, the Gabon striker returned to the starting XI in emphatic style on Saturday with a four-goal haul in Dortmund's 5-2 Bundesliga battering of Hamburg.
Aubameyang embraced Tuchel after scoring his first goal and the head coach recognises how important he is to Dortmund.
"Four goals is outstanding, an absolutely top performance," Tuchel told a media conference.
"It always was and is clear that we cannot achieve any of our goals without Aubameyang."
Dortmund's win at the Volksparkstadion was their first Bundesliga victory in five.
A mixture of poor form and a lengthy injury list left Dortmund without a league win since September and Tuchel hailed the importance of a timely three points.
"There was no alternative [but] for us to win here. We wanted this result and so we have got it," he added.
"It wasn't primarily about tactics. We urgently needed this result.
"There are many things for us to work on, but now is not the time for general criticism."
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