ONE TOUCH SUMMARY
- Dortmund beat promoted Paderborn 3-0 for a third straight Bundesliga win, their best start in 11 seasons.
- Fábio Silva scored after five minutes from a Serhou Guirassy pass on their first start together.
- Felix Nmecha came off the bench to score twice, sealing the win with a late bicycle kick.
ONE TOUCH INSIGHT
Three from three is Dortmund's best start in 11 seasons, and it still tells you next to nothing. Paderborn, promoted and yet to score since returning to the top flight, offered a training-ground afternoon: Fábio Silva converted Serhou Guirassy's pass after five minutes, Guirassy had two more chalked off for offside, and Felix Nmecha settled it from the bench with a bicycle kick.
The genuine signal is depth, not dominance. Silva starting alongside Guirassy for the first time this season, Nmecha deciding a game as a substitute, Nico Schlotterbeck returning from the World Cup ankle injury without warning anyone he was ready — that is a squad getting bodies back in September, which matters more than a comfortable scoreline against the weakest side they will face.
Freiburg's 5-0 over Gladbach, who finished with ten men and sit bottom, is the more brutal result of the day, with Yannik Engelhardt and Igor Matanovic both scoring twice. Augsburg's first-ever spell at the top lasted a week, ended by a 2-2 draw with Leverkusen and Michael Gregoritsch's double.
Bayern have not kicked a ball yet. An Elversberg side with a perfect record hosts them on Sunday, and that scoreline redraws the top of the table.
WHY IT MATTERS
Dortmund's best start in 11 seasons puts them in early control of a title race that Freiburg have also joined, while promoted Paderborn's failure to score shows the gap between Bundesliga tiers.
Serhou Guirassy
ST
Guinea
Strengths
- ✓Link play: his clever pass set up Fábio Silva's fifth-minute opener
- ✓Two-striker partnership, starting alongside Fábio Silva up front for the first time this season
- ✓Penalty-box threat: he had two goals disallowed for offside in the first half
- ⚠Two first-half goals disallowed for offside raise questions about the timing of his runs
- ⚠Nmecha scoring twice from the bench puts pressure on Guirassy's place alongside Fábio Silva
TACTICAL FIT
Guirassy and Fábio Silva starting together for the first time gives Dortmund a two-striker axis, with Guirassy dropping deep to link play while Silva runs beyond him.
THE DEBATE
Dortmund's perfect start: genuine title charge, or the product of a soft fixture list?
Agence France-Presse
Sat 12 Sep 2026 13.15 EDT Last modified on Sat 12 Sep 2026 13.24 EDT
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Felix Nmecha scored twice and Fábio Silva grabbed another as Borussia Dortmund won 3-0 at home to promoted Paderborn to continue their perfect start in the Bundesliga. Dortmund’s win made it three from three in the league this campaign, their best start in 11 seasons, dating back to Thomas Tuchel’s time.
Starting up front alongside Serhou Guirassy for the first time this season, Silva converted a clever pass from the Guinean to give the hosts the lead after five minutes. Guirassy had two goals disallowed for offside in the first half but Dortmund were rarely troubled by the toothless visitors, who are yet to score since returning to the top flight.
Nmecha came off the bench to score twice, wrapping up victory for the hosts with a stunning late bicycle kick.
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Dortmund captain Nico Schlotterbeck made a surprise for his first match since picking up an ankle injury at the World Cup and told Sky Germany he kept his comeback under wraps. “We just hadn’t communicated that much yet because I didn’t want to,” Schlotterbeck said, adding “I missed it terribly. It was a serious injury but I’m glad to be back now.”
Freiburg thumped a poor Borussia Mönchengladbach 5-0 at home to climb to the top. Yannik Engelhardt and Igor Matanovic netted twice each and Maximilian Eggestein added a late fifth as the hosts sent Gladbach, who finished with 10 men, to the foot of the table.
A 2-2 home draw with Bayer Leverkusen ended Augsburg’s short stint at the top. Augsburg were top after the last matchday for the first time in their history but were held by Leverkusen despite a double from Michael Gregoritsch.
Eintracht Frankfurt won their first match of the campaign with a 3-1 victory at neighbouring Mainz, with Can Uzun’s double either side of a Jonathan Burkardt goal. Frankfurt’s goalkeeper Noah Atubolu kept his remarkable penalty-saving record alive when he stopped a first-half effort from Nadiem Amiri. Atubolu’s save was his sixth in a row, extending his own Bundesliga record.
Hoffenheim won 2-1 at home against Stuttgart thanks to a brace from Adam Hlozek.
In Saturday’s late game, Cologne host Werder Bremen. On Sunday, Bayern Munich travel to promoted Elversberg – who have a !00% record – while RB Leipzig host Hamburg.
In Spain, Alavés missed the chance to go top overnight with a 2-1 defeat at Racing Santander. On Saturday evening, Real Madrid can go second ahead of Alavés and move level on points overnight with Barcelona by beating Rayo Vallecano at home. Barça are at Levante on Sunday afternoon.
In Italy, Lazio – with three wins from three – host unbeaten Milan before Atalanta v Cagliari meet in a game between two sides with two wins and one defeat.
- This story will be updated
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