October 02, (THEWILL) — Borussia Dortmund claimed their opening victory in this season’s UEFA Champions League campaign with a convincing 4-1 triumph over Athletic Bilbao at Signal Iduna Park on Wednesday evening. Niko Kovac’s team maintained their unbeaten run in the 2025/2026 season, finding the net twice before and after the interval to overwhelm their Spanish visitors.
The home side broke through in the 28th minute when Daniel Svensson converted Karim Adeyemi’s quick delivery from point-blank range. Dortmund doubled their advantage four minutes into the second half through Carney Chukwuemeka, who finished from a narrow angle following an impressive individual run down the left flank.
Athletic pulled one back just past the hour mark when Gorka Guruzeta capitalised on a defensive error to fire home, and Robert Navarro thought he had levelled proceedings six minutes later with a clever chip over Kobel, but the goal was disallowed. The visitors’ hopes of a comeback were extinguished when Marcel Sabitzer’s 82nd-minute effort deflected off Guirassy and wrong-footed goalkeeper Unai Simon.
Julian Brandt completed the rout in the closing stages after Maximilian Beier dispossessed Athletic in midfield and threaded a pass through their backline. Brandt made no mistake, driving his finish into the bottom-right corner to cap an impressive performance from the German outfit.
The result gives Dortmund their first three points in the competition this term and reinforces their strong form under Kovac. Athletic, meanwhile, will need to regroup quickly after suffering their first defeat at the hands of the Bundesliga club.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
