Bundesliga’s Matchday One Specialists

Bundesliga’s Matchday One Specialists

Ahead of a new season, every football team targets a winning start.

After a pre-season period of experimenting, gelling, adapting and working towards full fitness, three points in the first game of the season are what every team wants.

Winning that highly-anticipated first game sets the tone for the campaign ahead.

Any doubts prior to kick-off are smoothed over and confidence can grow as ambitions are worked towards.

That is especially relevant for the elite clubs of world football who seek silverware year after year.

Bundesliga Trophy - the 'Meisterschale'
BVB will again have their eyes on the Bundesliga trophy or ‘Meisterschale’, currently belonging to Bayern Munich.

One such club is Borussia Dortmund, who began their 2023/24 campaign last Saturday with a 6-1 win away against TSV Schott Mainz in the first round of the DFB-Pokal.

Facing a semi-professional side, the BVB celebrations were rather subdued as goals from Sébastien Haller (2), Julian Brandt, new signing Marcel Sabitzer, Donyell Malen and Youssoufa Moukoko booked the club’s place in round two.

Now Edin Terzic’s side turn their attentions to the main event.

On Saturday, 19 August, Borussia Dortmund welcome 1. FC Cologne to Signal Iduna Park, as a new Bundesliga season gets underway.

On the back of last year’s final day heartbreak, ‘die Schwarzgelben’ will be looking for a strong start.

With fresh faces and new kits, there is also new hope at the club ahead of the term.

Stats

‘die Borussen’ have lost just one of their previous 12 opening day matches in the Bundesliga, winning 11 of those.

Just two of those came away from home, while their past two losses both came at the hands of the same opponent: Bayer Leverkusen.

With Cologne coming to town on Saturday, the last time the two sides met on the opening day came in 2009, which ended in a 1-0 win for the Black and Yellows.

This is a look back at some of the club’s best opening day victories of recent years.

7. Wolfsburg (2017)

Venue: Volkswagen Arena

Scoreline: Wolfsburg 0-3 Borussia Dortmund

DFB-Pokal holders Dortmund kicked off their 2017-18 season under the new management of Peter Bosz.

To start the campaign, they faced the prospect of a rare away day against the previous season’s strugglers VFL Wolfsburg.

18-year-old sensation Christian Pulisic opened the scoring with a clean strike from range, before unlikely hero Marc Bartra doubled BVB’s lead from centre-back with a delightful curled effort into the far top corner.

2016-17 golden boot winner Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang tapped home an excellent Pulisic cross in the second half to seal a winning start for the visitors.

6. Eintracht Frankfurt (2021)

Venue: Signal Iduna Park

Scoreline: Borussia Dortmund 5-2 Eintracht Frankfurt

On the back of a successful 2020-21 season which saw Edin Terzic guide ‘die Schwarzgelben’ to a DFB-Pokal title, a third place finish in the Bundesliga and the Champions League quarter-finals, there was new hope in North Rhine-Westphalia ahead of 2021-22.

The highly-rated Marco Rose of Borussia Mönchengladbach was hired as manager and Eintracht Frankfurt were his first opponent in the Bundesliga.

Despite a Felix Passlack own goal cancelling out Marco Reus’ opener, ‘die Borussen’ soon clicked into gear and tore Frankfurt apart.

Thorgan Hazard restored the hosts’ lead, before Erling Haaland and Giovanni Reyna got in on the act.

Haaland soon added another for the Black and Yellows that day, having assisted his side’s other three goals, before fellow Norwegian Jens Petter Hauge pulled a consolation goal back for the visitors.

5. Borussia Mönchengladbach (2020)

Venue: Signal Iduna Park

Scoreline: Borussia Dortmund 3-0 Borussia Mönchengladbach

Just a year earlier, Borussia Dortmund kicked off their Bundesliga campaign against Marco Rose.

Former ‘Gladbach manager Lucien Favre began his third term as boss with a convincing 3-0 victory over his former employers.

Reyna opened the scoring with a nice finish across goal before Haaland, who was entering his first full year in black and yellow, scored twice in the second half (once from the penalty spot) to seal a 3-0 win.

A perfect start to the season against a fellow Champions League opponent.

4. Augsburg (2019)

Venue: Signal Iduna Park

Scoreline: Borussia Dortmund 5-1 Augsburg

After pushing Bayern Munich to be within two points of the Bundesliga title, Favre’s side started their next campaign in style.

Firstly, BVB triumphed over their ‘Klassiker’ rivals in the Supercup with a 2-0 win, before dispatching of Uerdingen in the DFB Pokal.

But the club were ready to send out a statement when their league season got underway, welcoming Ausburg to the Westfalenstadion.

‘Welcome’ probably isn’t the right word, as despite falling behind in the first minute, Dortmund responded by trouncing their visitors.

Just as it happened in the Supercup, Paco Alcacer and Jadon Sancho scored the first goals, coming on either side of half-time.

Reus made it three after being set up by Alcacer, as roles reversed from the opener.

The Spaniard then grabbed his second before Julian Brandt made it ‘game over’ late on, finishing off an Axel Witsel cross.

3. RB Leipzig (2018)

Venue: Signal Iduna Park

Scoreline: Borussia Dortmund 4-1 RB Leipzig

The 2017-18 season had been a poor one for ‘die Schwarzgelben’, seeing the club have two different managers: Peter Bosz and Peter Stöger.

But late season form secured a top four finish and Champions League qualification, with the Bundesliga’s rapid risers RB Leipzig finishing two points below in sixth place.

The sides met on the opening day in 2018, where Jean-Kevin Augustin gave the visitors an early lead.

However, Mahmoud Dahoud’s first goal for the club squared things up, before an own goal from current ‘Borusse’ Marcel Sabitzer completed the turnaround.

A debut goal from Axel Witsel and a second half strike from captain Marco Reus sealed an emphatic debut win at Signal Iduna Park for new boss Lucien Favre.

2. Augsburg (2013)

Venue: WWK Arena

Scoreline: Augsburg 0-4 Borussia Dortmund

On the back of Champions League final heartbreak, Borussia Dortmund followed up on their Supercup and DFB-Pokal wins with a resounding win on the first match day of the 2013-14 Bundesliga season.

Jürgen Klopp’s men travelled to Augsburg, where his deadly frontmen picked the Bavarian outfit apart.

Debutant Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang opened the scoring for the visitors, heading home a Marcel Schmelzer cross, before two goals within 13 minutes in the second half ensured the Gabon international would take home the match ball.

A late Robert Lewandowski penalty added to Augsburg’s misery and capped off a perfect day for BVB.

1. Borussia Mönchengladbach (2015)

Venue: Signal Iduna Park

Scoreline: Borussia Dortmund 4-0 Borussia Mönchengladbach

The following season was a tough one for Dortmund, as the club ended the Bundesliga campaign in seventh place, 20 points behind an impressive Borussia Mönchengladbach side which finished third.

In the summer, the likes of Julian Weigl, Roman Bürki and Gonzalo Castro were recruited and ‘die Schwarzgelben’ started the campaign as they meant to go on.

After dismantling Austrian side Wolfsberger in the Europa League third qualifying round, Thomas Tuchel’s side defeated Chemnitzer in the Pokal before welcoming ‘Gladbach to the Westfalenstadion.

Favre’s BMG were no match for the phenomenal hosts, whose counter-attack game was unstoppable.

Marco Reus opened the scoring before Aubameyang headed home another Schmelzer cross.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan then kicked off a terrific campaign for himself, as the Armenian’s great positioning helped him to two goals on either side of half-time, sealing a very impressive opening day win for BVB.

Borussia Dortmund’s opening day record in the Bundesliga speaks for itself.

Welcoming a Cologne side which finished in mid-table last season (11th) to Signal Iduna Park isn’t an easy task but certainly a favourable fixture for ‘die Borussen’.

Against the team that couldn’t stop Bayern Munich on the final day, there may be an added incentive for Edin Terzic’s men.

But the most important thing for this BVB side will be to kick off the campaign as they mean to go on: with all three points.

The history books certainly stand in their favour.

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