 |
Bayer Leverkusen’s Son Heung-min celebrates his goal with teammate Sidney Sam on Saturday. (AP-Yonhap News) |
BERLIN (AP) ― Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored three goals in his Bundesliga debut to help Borussia Dortmund to a 4-0 victory at Augsburg in the opening round of the German league Saturday.
Aubameyang, a Gabon international who joined the Champions League runner-up from French club Saint-Etienne in the offseason, opened the scoring in the 24th minute, doubled the lead in the 66th, and added another in the 79th. Robert Lewandowski finished the rout with a penalty with four minutes remaining.
“We got great goals and finished the game with confidence,” Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp said. “Not many win 4-0 here. That makes me proud.”
Hertha Berlin celebrated its return to the Bundesliga with a 6-1 rout of visiting Eintracht Frankfurt, thanks to two goals each from Adrian Ramos and Sami Allagui and one each from Ronny and German-American defender John Anthony Brooks.
Bayer Leverkusen won 3-1 at home over Freiburg, Hannover beat nine-man Wolfsburg 2-0 at home, and Nuremberg drew 2-2 at Hoffenheim.
Zlatko Junuzovic’s late strike gave Werder Bremen a 1-0 win at Eintracht Braunschweig in the late game, denying the home side a winning return to the Bundesliga after 28 years.
“Something was missing for 28 years,” proclaimed a large banner before kickoff, but the closest Braunschweig came to scoring was in the 64th, when Ken Reichel’s shot crashed off the crossbar. Bremen keeper Sebastian Mielitz just got his fingertips to the ball.
Junuzovic scored in the 82nd, lifting the ball over the goalkeeper against the run of play.
The 24-year-old Aubameyang became only the sixth player in the Bundesliga to score a hat trick in his debut. He beat a defender to meet Marcel Schmelzer’s cross with a header beyond the helpless Augsburg goalkeeper for his first goal, then curled a shot inside the far post for the second.
Aubameyang rounded the goalkeeper for his third, tucking the ball into the empty net, after Lewandowski had played the ball into his path.
“Aubameyang was put to great use today. I’m not surprised about what he offers, but that all the balls go in already. It’s a very good start,” Klopp said.
France
Monaco’s expensively assembled team needed two late goals to win 2-0 win at Bordeaux in the French league on Saturday, as star signing Radamel Falcao scored in his first competitive game for the club.
Claudio Ranieri’s team appeared to be heading for a draw in its first match back in the top division, but Riviere took advantage of a mistake by Bordeaux defender Marc Planus to score eight minutes from time and Falcao sealed the result five minutes later.
Monaco is level on points with defending champion Paris Saint-Germain ― which drew 1-1 at Montpellier on Friday ― after starting the season with a two-point deduction.
The French federation is currently deliberating Monaco’s appeal against the penalty, which saw the club deducted points after trouble flared at its final home game last season.
Despite being one of the three promoted sides, Monaco is widely expected to be the closest challenger to PSG this season after making a number of expensive signings during the offseason.
Fellow promoted side Nantes also won 2-0, against Bastia, in a bad-tempered match which saw both sides reduced to 10 men.
Lyon, which finished third in the league last season, cruised to a 4-0 victory over Nice, while Toulouse saw its campaign get off to a disappointing start as it lost 3-0 at Valenciennes.
