Jamie Gittens scored twice in the final 15 minutes to lead Borussia Dortmund to a 3-0 victory over Club Brugge in their Champions League opener on Wednesday.
Dortmund, who were finalists last season and lost to Real Madrid at Wembley in June, started their campaign in the new-look league stage with a strong performance.
New Dortmund coach Nuri Sahin introduced Gittens as a substitute with 22 minutes left and the score tied at 0-0. The 20-year-old winger made an immediate impact, with his right-footed shot taking a deflection and looping over Brugge goalkeeper Simon Mignolet for the opening goal.
Gittens added his second goal with a low shot from the left flank four minutes before the end of regular time, securing the win and extinguishing any hopes of a Brugge comeback.
In injury time, summer signing Serhou Guirassy was awarded a penalty, which he converted to complete the 3-0 scoreline.
Sahin, the youngest coach in this season’s Champions League at 36, made three changes from Dortmund’s 4-2 Bundesliga victory over Heidenheim on Friday, including resting Guirassy due to his recovery from injury.
Despite Dortmund’s dominance in possession, Brugge had the best chances in the first half. Raphael Onyedika had a shot saved by Dortmund’s Gregor Kobel after 12 minutes, and Brugge midfielder Hugo Vetlesen’s follow-up hit the crossbar. Kobel also made a crucial save with his fingertips on a goal-bound shot from Vetlesen 30 minutes later.
Gittens, who had a decisive impact in Dortmund’s Bundesliga opener against Eintracht Frankfurt, again proved pivotal. His first goal took a fortunate deflection, but his second demonstrated skill as he dribbled and cut inside before finishing with a low shot.
Guirassy, who scored 28 goals in 28 league games for Stuttgart last season, was fouled in the box and scored the resulting penalty with the final kick of the match.
Dortmund’s clean sheet against Brugge marks a historic achievement as they became the first team in Champions League history to face a team five times without conceding a goal.
