Borussia Dortmund made the perfect start to the 2026/27 Bundesliga season with a 2-0 home victory over Hamburger SV. The Black and Yellows took an early lead through Serhou Guirassy and sealed the win via new signing Giannis Konstantelias, but had to see out the final minutes with ten men after a red card for substitute Samuele Inacio.
Edin Terzic's side, who finished as runners-up last season, showed determination from the off on Saturday, August 29, 2026. Guirassy found the net in the ninth minute, setting the tone for the match. The second goal came in the second half when Konstantelias fired from distance, his shot taking a deflection to wrong-foot the HSV goalkeeper.
Just three minutes after coming off the bench in the 70th minute, Samuele Inacio committed a dangerous foul and was shown a straight red card. The defender, signed in the summer window, put his team under unnecessary pressure. Dortmund had to manage the remaining time a man down while protecting a 2-0 lead. The backline held firm to keep a clean sheet, which is particularly notable given the current absences of Nico Schlotterbeck and Ramy Bensebaini on the injury list.
The team showed character and allowed the opponent few chances. This defensive focus was necessary as the squad is currently thin at centre-back. The next challenge awaits on September 5th away to sixth-placed 1899 Hoffenheim.
While Dortmund took care of business, SV Elversberg provided the biggest shock of the matchday. The newcomers from a town of just 13,000 people won their historic top-flight debut 3-2 against Bayer Leverkusen. Goals for Elversberg came from Lukas Petkov, Cole Campbell, and David Mokwa right after halftime. Leverkusen came close late on through Patrik Schick and Christian Kofane.
In other matches, RB Leipzig beat Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-0, with Rocco Reitz scoring against his former club. Union Berlin and Eintracht Frankfurt played out a thrilling 3-3 draw, with Tim Skarke equalizing for Union in the 92nd minute. Younes Ebnoutalib had earlier scored a hat-trick for Frankfurt. 1. FC Cologne came from 2-0 down to beat Hoffenheim 3-2, with Thijs Dallinga scoring twice in the final 18 minutes.
The three points on the opening day are an important psychological signal for Borussia Dortmund. After finishing second last season with 64 points from 29 games and 19 wins, twelve points behind Bayern Munich, the aim is now to maintain pressure on the record champions. The attack, which scored 60 goals last campaign, has already fired with Guirassy and Konstantelias.
However, the red card for Inacio is a setback and will have consequences for the upcoming matches. The team must now prove in the coming weeks that it can get results even with defensive personnel shortages. The next opportunity comes in the away game at Hoffenheim, a direct competitor for European places. A look at last season's standings table shows how tight the battle for Champions League spots was; every point counts from the very start.
