Borussia Dortmund have started their UEFA Champions League campaign with a clear and convincing 6-0 (3-0) win away to Legia Warsaw. The Black and Yellows raced into a three-goal lead in the opening 15 minutes thanks to goals from Mario Götze (7), Sokratis (15) and Marc Bartra (17). Raphael Guerreiro added a fourth minutes into the second half (51), before Gonzalo Castro made it five 30 seconds after coming off the bench and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang rounded off the win with a sixth late on (87).

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Mario Götze fired the visitors into the lead.

Borussia Dortmund delivered an emphatic tactical and footballing display to mark a successful return to the Champions League, recording their highest-ever victory in the competition in the process, as they look ahead to the Group F showdown with Real Madrid in two weeks. The match was overshadowed by the Legia Warsaw ultras attacking the 1,800 BVB fans, with the police intervening with pepper spray.

The scenario: 
Borussia Dortmund returned to Europe's elite club competition 546 days after losing at home in the last 16 in 2014/15. Tonight marked their second meeting with a Polish team following a double-header with Widzew Lodz in 1996/97 (2-1 and 2-2). It was a first appearance in the group stages since 1995/96 for Legia Warsaw, who overcame HSK Zrinjski (1-1 away, 2-0 at home), FK AS Trencin (1-0, 0-0) and Dundalk (2-0, 1-1) in qualifying. The Poles had never beaten German opposition in eight previous attempts (five defeats, three draws).

Personnel matters: 
Schürrle had sustained a minor medial collateral ligament injury and sat the match out as a precautionary measure. Other absentees included Reus (lack of match fitness), Bender (ankle) and Durm (knee operation). Pulisic, Dembélé and Guerreiro, who was making his first start for the club, came back into the starting XI with Rode and Castro dropping to the bench. Legia captain Pazdan was available, but the hosts were without the suspended Hlousek, who once plied his trade in the Bundesliga.

Tactics: 
Borussia started in a 4-1-4-1 formation with Weigl as the sole defensive midfielder. Dembélé and Pulisic began on the left and right of the midfield quartet respectively, while Guerreiro and Götze looked good in possession and were always ready to receive the ball as they pulled the strings in the centre. Legia lined up in a 4-3-3 formation but offered little in attack, spending lengthy spells camped in their own half.

The match & analysis:
Borussia's long spells of possession were accompanied by fierce whistling from the stands, as the Legia fans in the Wojska Polskiego turned up the heat. But Thomas Tuchel's new-look starting XI hardly seemed fazed by the extraordinarily feisty atmosphere in the Polish capital, keeping the ball moving and their opponents chasing. Shortly after Pulisic had threatened the hosts with a low cross into the penalty area, the visitors opened the scoring. Schmelzer played a long ball to Dembélé on the left wing, the Frenchman crossing the ball in for Götze to break the deadlock (7). It was the midfielder's fifth European goal in the Black and Yellow of Dortmund, and his first since 5 March 2013.

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Marc Bartra bundles the ball over the line to make it 3-0.

Excellent build-up play four minutes later presented Aubameyang with a chance to double the lead, but he was twice denied by 'keeper Malarz. The shot-stopper was unable to keep out Sokratis moments later, however, when the Greek headed home Guerreiro's free-kick (15). Barely 60 seconds later the custodian saw yellow for handling outside the box and although he was initially able to fend off the ensuing free-kick – a well-placed effort from Guerreiro from 18 metres out – and Schmelzer's attempt after Aubameyang's initial follow-up had rebounded off the post and into the German full-back's path, Bartra found the net at the third time of asking. It meant that the two Borussia centre-backs had each scored in the space of two minutes.

Dembelé narrowly missed (23), Sokratis had a header from a Götze free-kick (31) and Aubameyang saw a lob hit the side netting (39) as a series of good chances fell to the Black and Yellows, who very much deserved their three-goal lead at the break after a first half in which they had 16 shots to Legia's four and 69 percent possession.

BVB continued to dominate the second period without overexerting themselves. Bürki, who had a quiet evening between the sticks, wasn't tested until Langil's effort in the 57th minute. By then it was already 4-0. Five minutes after the restart Aubameyang had cut in from the right and played a pass across to the unmarked Dembélé on the right flank. The latter saw his shot blocked as two defenders threw themselves into its path, but Guerreiro pounced on the loose ball and fired it into the far corner. A couple of efforts from Götze shortly thereafter posed a threat but were ultimately blocked (57) and saved (59).

With a quarter of an hour on the clock Götze, who had produced another outstanding performance, and Dembélé were substituted off – Weigl was the third player to depart, with Ginter coming on. Substitute Castro needed just 30 seconds on the pitch before he added a fifth, pouncing at the far post to convert a Pulisic cross. Then, in the 87th minute, Aubameyang finally got on the scoresheet after Castro had played the ball perfectly into his path.

Prospects: 
Matchday 2 of the UEFA Champions League will see Borussia Dortmund host Real Madrid on 27 September. Beforehand the Black and Yellows face a busy period in the Bundesliga: Darmstadt 98 travel to Signal Iduna Park on Saturday (15:30 CET), before a trip to Wolfsburg follows next Tuesday.

Teams & goals