Disappointed by the result, impressed with the atmosphere

In the home game against Mainz (1-0 defeat) yesterday, new signings Nathan Ngoumou and Julian Weigl made their debuts for the Foals.

Both Nathan Ngoumou and Julian Weigl had definitely imagined their debuts as going differently. “After half-time we were really unlucky. Lots of small things that decide a game like this one unfortunately did not go our way,” said Weigl. “On the one hand, I am hugely happy to have made my debut, on the other hand we lost the game in the end, so I am disappointed,” said Ngoumou, who came on for Joe Scally in the 81st minute of the match.

The 22-year-old Frenchman, who was signed from Toulouse only a few days ago, made an impact of the right-hand side of Borussia’s attack in the final period of the game, and showed his quality. "The coach said to me before I came on that I should try to use my pace to create chances, when possible in one-on-one situations. That’s what I tried to do,” said Ngoumou.

Julian Weigl had to wait even a little bit longer than Ngoumou to make his debut. The 26-year-old, who Borussia have loaned for a year from Benfica, came on in the 87th minute of the match to replace Manu Koné. “When I came on, the game was very frantic. We had to keep defending but we also tried to create one last chance to equalise. We had two headed chances, but the bottom line is that unfortunately I was not able to do more to help us at least get a point,” said Weigl.

Despite the defeat, both new signings were impressed with the excellent atmosphere created by the near sell-out crowd of 51,000 fans at the BORUSSIA-PARK. “It was really special to run out in front of our own fans. The fans were very positive and supported us brilliantly,” said Weigl. “It was really impressive to play in front of so many fans. Personally, it was the first time that I have played in front of such a large crowd,” stated Ngoumou.