Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen began their Bundesliga campaigns in the Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund. BVB were looking to use their German Supercup win, over Bayern Munich, as the catalyst for a strong start to the season. While Leverkusen were looking to start strongly, after they held off Copenhagen in the first leg of their 3rd qualifying round in the Champions League earlier in the week on a 3-2 scoreline.

In what was Roger Schmidt's first Bundesliga game in charge, things couldn't have gone better, as Karim Bellarabi scored after just seven seconds - a new Bundesliga record. The flying winger was a constant thorn in Dortmund's side, and his precise finish was more than even Schmidt could have dreamed of.

However, Jurgen Klopp would still have been harbouring hopes of a comeback, and with the majority of the game to do so, Dortmund set about trying to penetrate the opposition's defensive line. A header from Sebastien Kehl after 4 minutes was a sign of things to go, but the impressive Bernd Leno stopped everything aimed in his goal's direction. A little over 10 minutes later, Italian international Ciro Immobile spurned a great chance to level affairs.

The new recruit intercepted a poor back-pass, and sprinted into the area, where he was halted by an excellent challenge from young defender Tin Jedvaj. Leverkusen's Hakan Calhanoglu was a bright spark, unleashing a few long range efforts without replicating last season's wondergoal for Hamburg against der BVB. The young Turk flourished under Schmidt's 'gegenpressing' system, never allowing his opponent's a second's rest on the ball.

Hakan Calhanoglu impressed in his first Bundesliga game with Leverkusen.

With Dortmund also employing intense pressing, the game was played at an exceptionally high tempo. By half time, Dortmund had retained a hold on the game without creating any clear cut chances.

Half time: Borussia Dortmund 0-1 Bayer Leverkusen

The second half started in the same vein as the first finished. Relentless pressure from Dortmund, with efforts from Marco Reus and Ciro Immobile failing to seriously test Leno. Leverkusen stood firm, fending off all signs of danger, and clever tactical switches from manager Schmidt were key to the side. Chances were scarce until in the 93rd minute, Leno did excellently to thwart Aubameyang, and in the resulting attack, man of the match Kiessling punished Dortmund with an emphatic finish after Bellarabi had robbed Durm of possession.

Kiessling and Bellarabi celebrate

Full time: Borussia Dortmund 0-2 Bayer Leverkusen

In the end, Dortmund's lack of creativity was their downfall. The largely invisible Immobile had little or no bearing on affairs, while central midfield pairing Jojic and Mkhitarayan were too narrow. Although they dominated possession, (58%) they were punished by the more clinical side.

Said Stefan Kiessling "It was very intense today, but you want that, and you just have to go through that. And looking at the result, it was great."

Contrasting emotions in the Westfalenstadion at full time
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About the author
Sean Tansley
Budding sports journalist and unbiased Liverpool fan.