MOTM (Not a) Poll: BVB Victorious to Kick Off Bundesliga Season

29 August 2026, North Rhine-Westphalia, Dortmund: Soccer, Men's, Bundesliga, Borussia Dortmund vs. Hamburger SV, Matchday 1, Signal Iduna Park. Borussia Dortmund's Serhou Guirassy celebrates his goal to make it 1-0. Photo: Fabian Strauch/dpa - IMPORTANT NOTICE: In accordance with the regulations of

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What is the story about?

It’s good to be back. BVB opened their account for the 2026/27 season with a relatively comfortable three points against Hamburg, thanks to goals from Serhou Guirassy and Giannis Konstantelias. Dortmund looked excellent in the first half and were good value for their 2-0 lead going in at the break, but they took their foot off the gas a bit in the second half.

An unfortunate (though entirely fair) red card for Samuele Inácio right after he came into the game made for a slightly hairy final fifteen

minutes, but on the whole I think Dortmund looked good and did what they needed to do when Hamburg piled on pressure in the second half.

Lots of positives to take from this game, and a good start to the season. Hopefully we’ve got an exciting season ahead. Here are your nominations for Man of the Match in BVB’s 2-0 win over Hamburg.

Konstantinos Karetskas

Lovely assist for Guirassy’s opening goal. Linked up really well with his Greek compatriot and Guirassy, and was very dangerous for the first hour of the game.

Jobe Bellingham

Jobe has caught plenty of heat in his time at Dortmund, some of it warranted. But he was one of the best players on the pitch today. Had a big hand in the opening goal and was excellent in possession all game long. Fingers crossed he can build on this and take a step in his development this season.

Giannis Konstantelias

While he was on the pitch, I think Giannis was easily the best player. He was electric. It’s possible his goal will be awarded as an own goal in the end, but he deserves a reward for his efforts today. I’m hopeful the injury that took him out of the game was nothing serious and Niko Kovač was just being careful with BVB’s new star.

Serhou Guirassy

Guirassy was really lively in the first half, linking up really well with The Greeks. His opening goal was a great example of that link-up play, and he capped it off with a fantastic finish. Though he was a little quieter in the second half, I think he still held the ball up well and did a decent job taking pressure off the team at times.