Borussia Dortmund’s first Champions League victory came on Wednesday against Athletic Bilbao 4-1 at home, with Serice Guirassy scoring one goal and adding another.
Before the half-hour mark, Karim Adeyemi gave Daniel Svensson the opener, and Carney Chukwuemeka added Dortmund’s second, his first goal since moving to Chelsea in the summer.
After drawing at Juventus in a fiery 4-4 draw, Dortmund promised more stability, but they instead invited Bilbao, who gave Gorka Guruzeta a goal with a defensive mix-up on the hour.
With nine minutes left, Dortmund appeared shaky, but Guirassy eased their nerves by giving a Marcel Sabitzer shot to restore their two-goal lead.
In stoppage time, the hosts added a fourth before Julian Brandt wrapped up the contest.
We scored a few more goals than we needed, but we still managed to get there happy,” Brandt said.
Bilbao, making their first Champions League appearance since 2014-15 and just their third overall, lacked Nico Williams’ originality.
The Spain winger had only scored twice in those five games and was unable to play.
Coach Niko Kovac kept his pre-game promise to rotate the side and increase the number of minutes given to his bench players despite a season that has already started well.
Jobe Bellingham made his full debut in the starting lineup while Chukwuemeka made his debut for the first time since August.
Bellingham struggled to find his passing range, but Dortmund’s lack of fluidity was immediately apparent.
Despite the errors, Kovac praised the English midfielder. He did well, he said. He was quick, determined, and able to fend off the odds.
I don’t want to think so negatively about anything. He’s only 20 years old, so there may not have been many positives. He has a lot of potential.
Dortmund’s opener was scored by Adeyemi, who was in excellent form, who blazed down the right flank before slamming a pass across the face of goal for Svensson to fire home.
Dortmund’s decision-making was poor, despite the goal’s sputtering. In his first game of the season, Niklas Suele chose to score a long-range effort rather than pass it to Guirassy inside the box.
On the 50th minute, Chukwuemeka doubled Dortmund’s lead by shooting in from the near post after being pushed into space by Guirassy.
Dortmund had a routine win in mind, but they instead made a poor defensive error to draw Bilbao back. Guruzeta scored effortlessly from the penalty spot after Suele failed to clear a ball in the box.
Dortmund, who had a hard time breaking free of their own half, were in fear after scoring the goal.
Guirassy would put the hosts back on track again, deflecting Sabitzer’s shot into the goal for his sixth goal in seven games this season, but Bilbao had a few half-chances to equalize and a goal was ruled out for offside.
At the death, Brandt gave the scoreline more gloss.
