Weigl: "There was definitely more in it for us"

Dortmund’s success story so far this season, Julian Weigl, who has been rested a few times recently, was once again part of the starting XI for the first leg of Dortmund’s Europa League tie against Porto. In Dortmund’s 2-0 home win, Weigl played alongside Nuri Sahin, who was making a comeback after a long injury layoff. He also witnessed the foul on Marco Reus after just under an hour of the game. The U21 Germany international spoke to DFB.de about the game.

Question: Mr Weigl, it must be good to have won 2-0 against Porto. Is there a better possible position to be in going into the next leg?

Julian Weigl: Perhaps. There were a few situations when we were a bit unlucky. Iker Casillas reacted really well to Shinji Kagawa’s shot and Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s header hit the post. There were chances to score another goal and it would have made our position more secure. Nevertheless, we are in a good position.

Question: Was it easier than the papers suggested it would be?

Weigl: I don’t know if it was easier. I think we can be happy that we scored an early goal, as it gave us a lot of confidence and perhaps shocked Porto a bit. Following that, we kept the ball well and were able to play how we wanted to. However, I can’t really say whether it was easier or harder. I hadn’t played Porto before and it was okay, we’re happy.

Question: You were close by when Marco Reus was fouled. What did you think of the whole situation just before the hour mark?

Weigl: I saw it really well. I thought it was a really, really bad foul. I don’t understand why anyone would need to go in like that. The ball had already been played. From my point of view it should have been a red rather than a yellow.

Question: You have been at Dortmund for just over six months and against Porto, you were finally been able to experience what it’s like to play with Nuri Sahin. How was it?

Weigl: We’re all happy for Nuri. Recently in training he had been hinting that he was close to returning to the side. Against Porto, you could see the quality that Nuri Sahin brings to the side. The whole of the side is happy that Nuri has been able make a comeback after such a long time out through injury.

Question: Are appearances deceptive or have you played well together since the start? Weigl: We obviously play together a lot in training, but it is different in a match. We spoke about a few things shortly before the start of the game. I thought that we worked well together. Nuri looked really secure.

Question: Was the change to the 4-2-3-1 formation made in order to accommodate Sahin?

Weigl: It was more due to the opposition. We wanted an extra man in the middle of the pitch to help with our buildup play, so that we could play freely behind the two strikers. That’s how the coach explained it to us. You will have to ask him to see whether it was actually because of Nuri.

Question: How important is it to have an extra option for the remaining games that will decide how your season goes? You don’t have much time before your next game in Leverkusen.

Weigl: It’s very important! We have some difficult matches coming up. There is still a long way to go in the season, so we will need everyone. Including Sven Bender who is back in training and will make a return soon. Experienced players retuning, such as these two, can only be good for us.

Question: What sort of game do you expect in the return leg in Porto?

Weigl: It will be an even harder game. Everyone knows about the hostile atmosphere there. At home they will try once again to do everything possible to win. It will be a totally different game. I imagine that they will press harder, and throw everything they have at us. They have a lot of quality in both attack and defence.