BVB's 8-4 victory over Legia Warsaw was undoubtedly historic, simply on account of its 12 goals – setting a new Champions League record. A somewhat surreal evening that bore a resemblance to an entertainment event at times, there were a whole series of side stories to tell.

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Chief among them was that of Marco Reus, who captained Borussia on his comeback after 185 days out injured, scoring a hat-trick (32, 52 and 90+3) as well as setting up the third (20) and fourth goals (29). "It was how you envisage your return to be after such a long time," said Reus. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who came off the bench in the 70th minute before hitting the post (79) and setting up Reus' third, tweeted after the match, "The man marcinho11 what a Comeback #MRXI respect Captain", while coach Thomas Tuchel spoke of an "outstanding comeback".

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It was 00:45 CET by the time Marco Reus had completed a drug test and was able to field journalists' questions.

Another side story was that of Nuri Sahin, who was making only his second appearance of the season and scored his first-ever UEFA Champions League goal to put BVB 3-1 up (20). The Turk, for whom it was a first European goal in over six years, said: "It's a difficult period for me. The goal did me good. It was a nice feeling to be involved again."

Shinji Kagawa, making only his sixth competitive start this season, was another Black and Yellow who rose to the occasion. Dortmund's number 23 became the first Japanese player to hit a brace in Europe's elite club competition, the 27-year-old scoring his second and third goals in the UCL. His two strikes, which equalised the game at 1-1 (17) and put BVB 2-1 ahead (18) came within 78 seconds – another record.

Passlack is the youngest German goalscorer

Felix Passlack will not forget Tuesday's goal fest against Legia Warsaw in a hurry either, having become the first German to score in the Champions League at the age of 18. "I am absolutely delighted to get off the mark in just my second match," commented the youngster.

Ousmane Dembelé was also among the standout performers against the Poles. The 19-year-old Frenchman, who had previously set up two goals in the 6-0 hammering in Warsaw, this time assisted four as well as adding BVB's fourth in the 29th minute.

And then of course, there's Roman Weidenfeller, a BVB veteran and most likely the best second-choice goalkeeper in the competition. The 36-year-old conceded four on his 38th CL appearance as his defence frequently failed to provide adequate cover. "We shouldn't have let in four. I felt it was a bit unnecessary and had imagined the evening differently," he said. Conceding four goals in the Champions League was another club record.

BVB to travel to Madrid as group leaders

Thomas Tuchel, who was struggling to provide objective analysis in the wake of the match, showed understanding for the shot-stopper. "I have sympathy for Roman Weidenfeller tonight. I think there's room for improvement in our one-on-one challenges and in shoring the defence up to deal with counters."

The BVB coach won't be the only one thinking along those lines, with most of the 55,094 fans in the stadium probably wondering the same thing. But those thoughts ultimate faded into the background as other stories stole the show. 

The result means that BVB will travel away to Real Madrid on 7 December as Group F leaders – they have a two-point lead over Los Blancos – knowing that a draw will be enough to top the pool. It's something that nobody would have expected before the group stages – yet another story resulting from this most remarkable of evenings...

Felix Ulrich