“I had goosebumps”: Borussia Dortmund players delighted to have fans back at the Westfalenstadion

Marco Reus, Erling Haaland and Manuel Akanji were overjoyed about the return of fans at the Westfalenstadion during Borussia Dortmund’s 5-2 win over Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday. 

Fans returned to the Westfalenstadion for the first time since October 2020, as a total of 25,000 supporters watched Borussia Dortmund begin their Bundesliga campaign with a 5-2 win over Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday. While the stadium was only one-third full, the crowd created an electric atmosphere to give the players a real lift. And the fans were treated to quite a show, as the Black and Yellows cruised to a dominant win.

The Borussia Dortmund players seemed to be really feeding off the energy of the crowd. And they put in a performance of the highest quality to get their Bundesliga campaign off to a perfect start. Goals from Marco Reus, Thorgan Hazard, Erling Haaland (x2) and Gio Reyna helped Marco Rose’s side earn an impressive 5-2 win over Eintracht Frankfurt.

Marco Reus, Erling Haaland and Manuel Akanji all spoke about the return of the fans after the game. Both Reus and Haaland said that they had goosebumps seeing fans back at the Westfalenstadion after so long. While Akanji praised the fans for creating an incredible atmosphere, and said that it gave the players a big boost.

"“We are incredibly happy that the fans are back,” Reus said. “I had goosebumps during the warm-up because we haven’t experienced that for so long. It just makes things a lot more fun.”“It was easy to be motivated [against Eintracht Frankfurt],” Haaland said. “I had goosebumps when I came out. It was amazing to play in front of fans. It’s free motivation, I missed them a lot.”“Less than a third full – and yet it was an incredible atmosphere,” Akanji said. “It pushed us immensely. It must have been intimidating for the opponent.”"

Haaland scored two goals and set up three in Borussia Dortmund’s 5-2 win over Eintracht Frankfurt, while Reus scored one goal and registered two assists.

Borussia Dortmund will once again have 25,000 fans in attendance at the Westfalenstadion on Tuesday, as they go up against rivals Bayern Munich in the 2021 DFL-Supercup.