News
First Champions League home game – the ticker for the match against Bilbao
Wednesday, 1 October 2025: Matchday!
On the agenda for today:
- Activation session
- Departure for the stadium
- Borussia Dortmund – Athletic Bilbao
- Press conference
+++ 10:52 CEST: Yes! +++
That's it: BVB wins 4-1 at home against Athletic Club from Bilbao. The Black and Yellows took the lead in their ninth competitive match of the season in the 28th minute through Daniel Svensson, had a lot of possession against a well-defending opponent, but found few gaps. That changed after the restart when Bilbao opened up. Carney Chukwuemeka made it 2-0 in the 50th minute. But Gorka Guruzeta took advantage of a defensive error to pull one back (61'). Borussia faltered but did not fall. Serhou Guirassy deflected a shot from Marcel Sabitzer in the 82nd minute, and Julian Brandt scored in stoppage time to make it 4-1.
+++ 19:45 CEST: The line-up is here! +++
Borussia have a returnee in the starting line-up against Athletic Club: Niklas Süle. The centre-back was already back in the squad against Mainz, and now he's back on the pitch. Jobe Bellingham, Julian Ryerson, Serhou Guirassy and Carney Chukwuemeka also move into the starting line-up.
+++ 18:00 CEST: All is set! +++
The gates will open to fans in half an hour. SIGNAL IDUNA PARK is ready for a Champions League night – the first since April.
+++ 17:53 CEST.: Final whistle in the UEFA Youth League +++
BVB's U19 team lost their home game in the Youth League: Coach Felix Hischnagl's team went down 0-4 (0-0) to Athletic Club Bilbao's youth side. After conceding a goal in the 52nd minute, Borussia's Niklas König was shown a yellow-red card (57th minute), meaning that the U19s had to finish the game with ten men. The visitors then increased their lead to 4-0 (79th, 84th, 86th minutes).
+++ 16:48 CEST: Half-time in the UEFA Youth League +++
The score is 0-0 after 45 minutes in the clash between the U19 teams of BVB and Athletic.
+++ 16:00 CEST: Kick-off in the UEFA Youth League +++
Borussia Dortmund's U19s are back in action in the UEFA Youth League today after their 3-2 away win at Juventus in their opening game. The Borussia team are hosting Athletic Club Bilbao's youth team at the NLZ, with kick-off at 4 p.m.
+++ 11:00 CEST: Activation session +++
While Borussia Dortmund are warming up in Dortmund-Brackel, all is still quiet at SIGNAL IDUNA PARK. The match will kick off here at 21:00.
+++ 09:09: Good morning from Dortmund +++
It's matchday! At 21:00., Borussia will welcome Athletic Club to SIGNAL IDUNA PARK. After yesterday's final training session, today's schedule includes a warm-up before the Black and Yellows make their way to the stadium together in the evening. Borussia Dortmund will play in their international cup kit – yellow shirt, black shorts, yellow socks. Bilbao will play in their red and white striped kit with white shorts and black socks. The weather forecast for tonight: 9 degrees with a zero per cent chance of rain.
Tuesday, 30 September 2025
On the agenda for today:
- 11:00 CEST: final training session
- 14:00 CEST: press conference with Niko Kovac and Nico Schlotterbeck in SIGNAL IDUNA PARK
+++ 19:00 CEST: Athletic Club press conference +++
‘I know what it means to play here. It's not easy in this stadium. We're facing one of the most difficult tasks in Europe,’ warned Athletic coach Ernesto Valverde at the press conference on Tuesday evening. Nevertheless, the 61-year-old hopes that his recently struggling team will regain its former strength on the big stage: ‘It's a great opportunity for all of us. We have to try to enjoy it. A great game, a great opponent. That's motivation enough for the team and the fans.’ Find out what else Valverde and his goalkeeper Unai Simon have to say about the Black and Yellows and the game in our article.
+++ 17:00 CEST: Szymon Marciniak to referee +++
The Polish FIFA referee officiated the Champions League matches between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund (2–2 in December 2016) and between BVB and AC Milan on 4 October 2023 (0–0). The 44-year-old is an internationally experienced referee who has already officiated the 2022 World Cup final and has also been involved in other major tournaments such as Euro 2016 and 2024 and the 2018 World Cup. Szymon Marciniak has refereed 71 matches in the UEFA Champions League. Dutchman Pol van Boekel will be the video assistant referee.
+++ 14:00 CEST: press conference +++
“We have to be the team to dictate the game so that we can impose our style on the opposition,” explains Niko Kovac at the press conference. The fact that Athletic Bilbao field only players from the Basque Country ensures a high level of “identification not only with the club, but also with the region – that’s an added motivation,” says the coach. Nico Schlotterbeck is feeling prepared, saying of himself that since his return he “can give another 10% to 20%”. The pre-match report.
+++ 11:00 CEST: final training session +++
The trees and houses around the training ground in Dortmund Brackel are barely visible in the hazy weather. The BVB pros arrive on the pitch a little late, led by Marcel Sabitzer and Julian Brandt. Like many of their colleagues, both are wrapped up warm: although the thermometer shows 14 degrees Celsius, it feels cold in Dortmund-Brackel. The last Borussia players to jog onto the pitch are Carney Chukwuemeka, Felix Nmecha and Jobe Bellingham. After a short speech by coach Niko Kovac, the warm-up programme for the outfield players begins, while the goalkeepers start with a few drills between the posts. The Champions League balls are also used in the subsequent passing training. Shortly afterwards, technical training begins, with the Borussia players working on the finer points for the match against Bilbao.
Emre Can, Julien Duranville and Aaron Anselmino are absent from the final training session.
More photos in the picture gallery
+++ 10:00 CEST: a recent rundown of the Champions League +++
After a 4-4 draw in their opening match away to Juventus, Borussia Dortmund are looking to secure their first Champions League win of the season against Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday. For the record, the last time the Black & Yellows played at SIGNAL IDUNA PARK in the Champions League, they emerged victorious on the night. Although Borussia were ultimately eliminated in the quarter-finals by Barcelona in April, they put up an impressive fight against the five-time winners of the competition and won 3-1 at home in the second leg thanks to a hat-trick from Serhou Guirassy.
+++ 09:09 CEST: good morning from Dortmund +++
Borussia Dortmund are preparing today for their first home game of the 25/26 Champions League season, which kicks off at 21:00 CEST on Wednesday evening at SIGNAL IDUNA PARK. The final training session will take place in the morning at the training ground in Dortmund-Brackel. In the afternoon, Niko Kovac and Nico Schlotterbeck will answer journalists' questions at a press conference in the stadium (from 13:55 CEST, live on BVB-TV).