A week until the start of the Champions League: BVB's record in opening games | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund have kicked off their Champions League campaign with a home game in only two of the last 09 seasons, meaning the away game in Turin will be the eighth opening game on the road for the Black & Yellows. Dortmund's record is positive: there have been five victories, one draw and three defeats in the first UCL match of the season.

2024/2025 season | Club Brugge 0-3 BVB | 18/09/2024A dominant BVB struggled to break down the Belgian side's defence for a long time and were repeatedly dangerously hit on the counter-attack by the opposition in front of 29,000 spectators at a sold-out Jan-Breydel-Stadion. But the Black & Yellows opened the scoring through substitute Gittens (76), who then wrapped up the victory when he notched his second goal 10 minutes later. Guirassy rounded off the scoring at 3-0 from the penalty spot in stoppage time. BVB were ultimately knocked out by FC Barcelona (4-0 defeat, 3-1 win) at the quarter-final stage that season.

2023/2024 season | Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 BVB | 19/09/2023The French outfit clearly dominated the game for 75 minutes but needed a highly controversial penalty awarded for handball to take the lead through Kylian Mbappe shortly after the break. Former Dortmund player Achraf Hakimi quickly doubled the advantage to 2-0 with a well-worked goal (58). It was only in the closing stages that BVB started to look more confident on the ball and create chances – but without scoring. Despite defeat in their opening game, BVB fought their way to the final at Wembley, where they were beaten 2-0 by Real Madrid.

2022/2023 season | BVB 3-0 FC Copenhagen | 06/09/2022 Standing tickets were permitted at UEFA matches for the first time since 1999, but SIGNAL IDUNA PARK was not sold out due to the short time between the scheduling and kick-off (250 hours), while the (excessively) early kick-off time of 18:45 CEST came too soon for many working people. Nonetheless, the 70,700 spectators set what was a record attendance for a European home game at the time. After a tough start, the fans saw Marco Reus and Raphael Guerreiro score goals to give their team a 2-0 half-time lead. Jude Bellingham then increased the lead to 3-0 in the 83rd minute. But BVB's campaign came to an end in the round of 16 against Chelsea (1-0 win, 2-0 defeat).

2021/2022 season | Besiktas 1-2 BVB | 15/09/2021 Jude Bellingham converted Borussia's first chance in the 20th minute to give his side the lead and then set up Erling Haaland for the second goal in stoppage time at the end of the first half. In an intense second period, Dortmund defended their lead until stoppage time in front of 22,445 spectators and secured a deserved opening-game victory despite Francisco Montero's goal. Borussia Dortmund did not make it into the knockout stages that season and were eliminated in the group after finishing third behind Ajax and Sporting CP (level on points, better goal difference).

Lazio opened the lead with their first shot (Immobile, 6) and increased the advantage to 2-0 through Felipe in the 23rd minute. Just as Borussia were looking to equalise after Haaland had pulled a goal back in the 71st minute, the Italian capital club struck back: Akpa-Akpro re-established their two-goal cushion to make it 3-1 five minutes later. BVB's 2020/21 Champions League season ended at the quarter-final stage, following two 2-1 defeats against Manchester City.

2019/2020 season | BVB 0-0 FC Barcelona | 17/09/2019 The Black & Yellows kicked off the group stage with a draw. Despite 14 shots at goal, BVB missed out on the victory against FC Barcelona on home turf at SIGNAL IDUNA PARK. Captain Marco Reus was thrice denied by Barcelona keeper Ter Stegen – first from the penalty spot (55) and then from open play (75, 78). Substitute Julian Brandt also hit the crossbar (77). BVB were eliminated from the Champions League in the round of 16 that season, after a 2-1 win and a 2-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain behind closed doors.

2018/2019 season | Club Brugge 0-1 BVB | 18/09/2018 Borussia Dortmund once again found themselves on the road in their first UEFA Champions League group game in this season. BVB ran out 1-0 winners against Belgians Club Brugge thanks to a goal from Christian Pulisic. It was not until the 85th minute that the birthday boy snatched the victory for BVB with the late winning goal. Borussia reached the round of 16 in the 2018/19 campaign, where they faced Tottenham Hotspur. BVB's run came to an end against the eventual Champions League finalists after two defeats (3-0, 1-0).

2017/2018 season | Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 BVB | 13/09/2017 The home side took an early lead in the sixth minute (Son, 1-0), before BVB managed to restore parity seven minutes later through Andriy Yarmolenko's goal. After a brace from Tottenham forward Harry Kane (15, 60) and some bad luck for Dortmund's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the game ended in a 3-1 defeat. Aubameyang's goal to make it 2-2 was disallowed for an alleged offside, but this was the wrong decision. BVB finished third in their group behind Tottenham and Real Madrid and did not make it past the group stage of Europe's premier club competition on this occasion.

2016/2017 season | Legia Warsaw 0-6 BVB | 14/09/2016 09 years ago, BVB started their Champions League season away from home against Legia Warsaw. Borussia made an historic start to the UCL season. By the time the final whistle sounded in Warsaw, the Black & Yellows were celebrating a 6-0 away victory – the biggest in the club's history in an international competition. The dream start to the 2016/17 Champions League came thanks to Mario Götze's opener (1-0, 7), before Sokratis (2-0, 15) and Marc Bartra (3-0, 17) upped the lead. In the second half, Raphael Guerreiro (4-0, 51), Gonzalo Castro (5-0, 76) and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (6-0, 87) added their names to the scoresheet. Borussia Dortmund reached the quarter-final that season, where they were knocked out by two defeats to AS Monaco (3-2, 3-1).