BVB pick up win after win in the league

"It was like a dream. It was a wonderful feeling to run out again here in the stadium. I could hardly be happier." For months he had had to look on as his teammates trained on the pitch, while he was stuck in the gym alone slogging away to the end of making his comeback. 

At this point everything was going well for Borussia Dortmund, at least domestically, even though the start to the month of September was only half successful owing to a 0-0 draw away at SC Freiburg despite having a numerical advantage for 60 minutes of the game. Nonetheless, BVB sat atop the table after matchday 3, the 150th time in total that they had led the Bundesliga. The opposition had had a man sent off because of a rough foul on Marcel Schmelzer, who was celebrating his comeback after a five-week layoff, and who then as a consequence was forced back into convalescence once more. Freiburg's Ravet was shown red after video evidence had been consulted.

There then followed four wins on the spin: Maximilian Philipp scored an early goal in the second minute of their game against 1. FC Cologne for 1-0. Sokratis then doubled their lead on the stroke of halftime after video evidence had shown that his goal should stand. The second passage of play then saw the Billygoats torn apart thanks to three goals within ten minutes: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was next onto the scoresheet after converting a penalty kick due to handball (59'), before he scored again in open play just 80 seconds later. Philipp then got a brace for himself too by scoring in the 69' minute to deliver a final score of 5-0.

Hamburger SV and Borussia Dortmund played a fast paced game in the Volksparkstadion. Thanks to profligacy in front of the woodwork, BVB "only" led 1-0 at halftime via a goal from Shinji Kagawa. Only after a good hour had elapsed did Aubameyang put the team on course for victory with the second goal of the encounter. Christian Pulisic subsequently put the game to bed in the 79' minute with another goal for 3-0. It was BVB's 3000th goal in the history of the Bundesliga, a goal that simultaneously rewarded them with their 750th win.

It took until the 28' minute at home against Gladbach before their hitherto stable defence could be unlocked, though after that they offered little further resistance: Philipp struck first (28' and 38' minute), before Aubameyang scored a brace, with one goal before the break (45' minute), and one goal after (49') to bring up a 4-0 scoreline. The Gabonese then topped off a solo run with his third goal of the game on the hour mark, before Lars Stindl sullied Borussia Dortmund's run of clean sheets with a fully deserved consolation goal. Up until that point, Roman Bürki had made four brilliant saves. Julian Weigl then scored a wonder-goal in the 79' minute, meaning the game finished 6-1.

A hard-fought victory away at FC Augsburg meant that BVB extended both their own record start to a season and their lead at the top of the table to five points. Yarmolenko (4') and Kagawa (23') scored the goals for BVB, who then created many gilt-edged chances across the rest of first half. Augsburg were the better team in the second half though, and tried to force an equaliser. A carelessly taken penalty kick from Aubameyang in the 79' minute resulted in a bad miss.

Despite that, an unlucky 3-1 loss to Tottenham Hotspur and a deserved 3-1 defeat at the hands of Real Madrid meant that BVB made a poor start to their UEFA Champions League campaign. In Wembley Stadium, 67,343 spectators saw BVB dominate, especially in the first half of the match, yet the hosts were able to get early goals playing on the counter through Son for 1-0 (4') and Kane for 2-1 (11'). Andrey Yarmolenko had equalised temporarily (11'). Pulisic had a goal disallowed correctly (45'), but the decision to chalk off Aubameyang's goal in the 56' minute for offside was a dreadful one from the team of Italian officials. Instead of a legitimate goal being allowed to stand, Kane increased Tottenham's lead to 3-1 shortly after. In their home match against Madrid, the Black and Yellows were fully concentrated and after getting a goal back via Aubameyang in the 54' minute, right in the game. However, they went on to concede a goal scored on the break by Ronaldo in the 79' minute, with the fixture subsequently ending 3-1.
Boris Rupert