Match Report
From dominance to gritty defending: BVB celebrates first win of the season
With Svensson on the left in the back three, Beier on the left flank, and the familiar 3-4-3 formation, BVB took on HSV, who initially did not press until the midfield line and looked to close down space in their own defensive half, allowing the Black & Yellow to dominate from the start. While Nmecha fired just over the crossbar from 20 meters out, Guirassy was more accurate on the next attack, receiving a pass from Karetsas on the right edge of the box—exactly 16.9 meters from goal—and firing a low shot into the bottom left corner at 101.4 km/h (9').
The Black & Yellow barely gave their opponents a moment to breathe, as they applied aggressive pressure and created additional quaility looks for Karetsas (10' & 33'), getting the crowd fired up. Heuer Fernandes then parried a Karetsas thunderbolt with his foot and later prevented a goal yet again (41'). The atmosphere at sold out SIGNAL IDUNA PARK (official attendance: 81,365), was extraordinary throughout the game - even by BVB standards.
The stadium erupted when Konstantelias made it 2–0 with a goal in first-half stoppage time. Beier, who seconds earlier had cleared the ball off the goal line following an HSV free kick (although the play was called back for offside), received the ball from Svensson, broke through on the left wing, and passed to Konstantelias, whose shot took a deflection from Bornauw and found the back of the net. With a 14-0 advantage on shots and 68 percent possession, as well as a well-deserved 2-0 lead, the BVB players headed into the locker rooms.
The action continued at a furious pace. Kobel skillfully parried Grönbaek’s dangerous shot (49'), and Karetsas was denied by Heuer Fernandes on the counterattack. Konstantelias’ follow-up shot then went just wide of the left post (50'). Unfortunately, that would mark the Greek's second-to-last play. Shortly afterward, he suffered an injury while attemtping to steal the ball from Jatta. He had to be replaced by Sabitzer.
Throughout the entire second half — and even before the substitution — BVB was unable to match its own constant pressure and exhilarating performance from the first 45 minutes. At the same time, Hamburg became more proactive, making it an open game and coming close to scoring. After Daka went just wide (67'). Kovac responded with a triple substitution, with Mane, Inacio and Veerman replacing Ryerson, Karetsas and Nmecha (74'). Less than 120 seconds later, Inacio was shown a red card after a tough sliding challenge against Grönbaek.
The BVB players battled back for the remainder of the match, keeping HSV away from their own goal and coming close to sealing the victory with another goal Veerman (90').
Borussia Dortmund – HAMBURGER SV 2-0 (2-0 at half)
Bundesliga, Matchday 1 , Saturday, August 29, 2026, 6:30 p.m.
BVB: Kobel – Gadou, Anton, Svensson – Ryerson (74. Mane), Nmecha (74. Veerman), Bellingham, Beier (84. Prates) – Karetsas (74. Inacio), Guirassy, Konstantelias (54. Sabitzer)
Bench: Meyer, Silva, Albert, Reggiani
HSV: Heuer Fernandes – Capaldo, Bornauw, Torunarigha (82. Nadir) – Jatta (82. Poulsen), Lokonga, Remberg, Lemke (89. Philippe) – Adeline (67. Stange), Grönbaek – Daka (67. Moffi)
Bench: Tangvik, Elfadli, Nandja, Amoako
Goals: 1–0 Gurassy (9', assist: Karetsas), 2:0 Konstantelias (45+1, assist: Beier)
Red card: Inacio (77, serious foul play)
Yellow cards: Ryerson, Svensson – Lokonga
Referee: Zwayer (from Berlin)
Attendance: 81,365 (sellout) at SIGNAL IDUNA PARK
Boris Rupert