On the way back from the pitch to the dressing room, some of dortmund’s professionals took a first, cursory look at the standings on the video screen.
What they saw there reinforced the strategy they had decided on weeks ago to take on the top favorites FC bayern. In the end, the 5:1 (1:1) victory over FC augsburg helped BVB to the top of the table and strengthened their belief in their own strength. "This is a great feeling. We couldn’t have started any better," enthused midfielder julian weigl.
Unlike the last seven years’ subscription champions from munich, who had not managed more than a 2-2 draw against hertha BSC the day before, BVB managed the highest season-opening victory in its 52 years in the bundesliga so far. "We were naturally aware of the bavarians’ draw. That spurred us on all the more to set a sign right away. I think we did very well today," weigl admitted to sky.
Despite all the joy about the prompt lead in the standings, michael zorc warned against overestimating the victory: "it was a good start, but nothing more than that."The coach’s verdict was similarly restrained. Unperturbed, favre stuck to the credo he had cultivated last season: "we still have a few things to work on."
Nevertheless, BVB already looked like a championship contender in its form on saturday. The discussion that a physically robust center forward is still missing from the squad to be ready for the title has also been put to rest for the time being. As in the 2-0 win over FC bayern in the supercup and the 2-0 win over third division side uerdingen in the cup, alcacer, who has so far been known mainly as a jokerkonig, scored in his third compulsory match of the still young season as a starting eleven player. "Paco has finally come to terms with the fact that he can only score when he’s substituted," commented sporting director michael zorc.
The runners-up from dortmund could have suffered a similar fate to the defending champions from munich. Because BVB was also caught cold by the opponent. After just 31 seconds, coach lucien favre’s team, which had spent around 130 million euros during the summer break, was 1-0 down thanks to florian niederlechner’s goal. It speaks for the morale that it nevertheless did not falter. "I think you could see that it didn’t really bother us," said marwin hitz, who once again provided a flawless substitute for the still-injured regular keeper roman burki.
The quick equalizer by paco alcacer calmed things down and temporarily brought back memories of the spectacular 4:3 of both teams last season at the same venue. But this time things did not get as wild as they did in october 2018. Unlike at that time, BVB did not afford itself another weak performance and turned in a good performance in the 2nd half. Half time powerfully on. With the goals scored by jadon sancho (51.), marco reus (57.), alcacer (59.) and julian brandt (82.) the augsburger were still well served.
It was a fitting end to a successful afternoon that newcomer brandt also scored shortly after coming on as a substitute for BVB in his debut match. "That was super. The guys did a great job," said the former leverkusen man, "but still, not everything is perfect. We are still at the beginning of the season."
In addition, the warm reception for returnee mats hummels also contributed to the good mood in dortmund. Only a few whistles were heard before the game from fans who are still angry about his move from the revierclub to munich in the summer of 2016. However, the appealing performance of the head of the defense department was also allowed to impress the critics. "For him, there were rough expectations. He did it very, very well," praised favre.