Great game, great atmosphere

"We were good today." Four words were enough for the coach to describe a game that will live on in the memory because it had so many excellent moments. A masterclass in switching the play. Full-throttle football paired with technical class. It's the kind of football you fell in love with ten years ago.

There were just twelve seconds between the time BVB won the ball in their own half to the finish by Thorgan Hazard to make it 2-1. Then the fans had to wait just 126 seconds for Haaland to make it 3-1. "It was a great spectacle for the fans," said the Belgian about the season opener. The aggressive high pressing, the furious pace, shifting the ball from one side to the other – it was all too fast for Frankfurt. Never mind five – BVB could have had eight or nine goals!

"It was a great performance. But the best thing is that we can improve even more," said Giovanni Reyna. "The only thing that bothers me are the two unnecessary goals we conceded," added Manuel Akanji. The players and coaches saw and talked openly about weaknesses. "We gave them too much space in one situation or another," Marco Rose complained. "There are things we want to improve." Marco Reus also saw it that way: "We're far from where we want to be – and where the coach wants to see us."

After the final whistle, the team and coaching team were treated to tremendous applause. The return of the fans made everyone happy. "There were 'only' 25,000 here, but it felt like much more," Marco Reus said. Manuel Akanj beamed: "Less than a third – and yet it was an incredible atmosphere. That gives you such a big push. It must have been intimidating for the opposition."

Giovanni Reyna also had a smile on his face: "It's great that the fans are back. They gave us a boost, they gave us energy. It's an overwhelming feeling to play in front of fans again." Marco Rose felt it was a "taste of things to come – what we can expect when the stadium is really full again. The atmosphere carried us." But then he shifted his focus on to the tasks ahead: "The win was important to start the season off well. Now it's about us keeping that going, performing that way again next week, achieving consistency."

After the Super Cup on Tuesday, BVB face an away trip to SC Freiburg on Saturday. Boris Rupert