This was Julian Weigl's first Champions League campaign. The 21 year old aired his thoughts after being eliminated by AS Monaco – and showed himself ready to fight.

Your first season in the Champions league has come to an end; what lessons have you drawn from it?
"I have gained a lot of experience, got a lot of playing time and also learned that other teams have been screwed over even worse. And that we in our young team are making too many mistakes. You saw in Monaco that our build up play was often very good, but the final pass and the understanding between us wasn't quite right. That's why we were not able to work any clear chances for ourselves. We younger players will grow from this, and we hope to be successful in the coming years."

To what extent were BVB back in the match after the score went to 1-2?
"During the break we took it upon ourselves to give everything, and we knew that we were capable of scoring three goals. After the first leg we knew that we could play with greater freedom because we were behind, and knew that we had to. The early goal was perfect for us, it really got is back in the game. After that though we didn't really get the boost that we needed. We didn't play ambitiously enough when going forward as we had when we got the goal back. That was decisive. Monaco defended very well and were always dangerous on the counter. The third goal killed the tie."

How great is the desire and the determination to play in the Champions League again next season?
"Everybody enjoyed playing in the Champions League. Of course we want to qualify for it again next season via the Bundesliga, so that we can measure ourselves against the best players and the best teams. It was a great feeling for me to hear the Champions League theme so often and to learn from the best. As such, our desire to participate in the tournament again is great. We know the potential we have inside of us. We know that each individual has gained a lot of experience from this that we will need in future. We were one of the youngest teams in the Champions League this season."
Transcribed by Georg Heimann