THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BERLIN — Kevin Grosskreutz scored the first goal of the 49th Bundesliga season and then added another on Friday to lead Borussia Dortmund to a 3-1 home win over Hamburger SV.
Grosskreutz scored in the 17th and 48th minutes for the defending champion, with Mario Goetze’s wonderful 29th minute effort sandwiched in between.
"We can do even more," Grosskreutz said. "We’re all young players and the coach is fantastic."
Substitute Robert Tesche scored a consolation goal in the 79th, blasting the ball through a crowd of defenders after Shinji Kagawa had cleared Marcell Jansen’s header off the line.
"For 70 minutes we played great football, then we let the concentration down," Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp said. "It’s human, it’s natural."
Before the game, league president Reinhard Rauball — who is also Borussia’s president — promised a season of "outstanding games."
Kagawa almost scored against the league’s youngest side in the 14th minute when he flashed a powerful shot narrowly wide of Jaroslav Drobny’s post.
Grosskreutz scored at the end of a counterattacking move after Pablo Guerrero missed the chance to shoot at the other end.
Goetze found the 23-year-old winger in space on the right and Grosskreutz took one touch with his right before shooting with his left in off the far post.
Robert Lewandowski’s classy backheeled return pass set up Goetze for Dortmund’s second, when the 19-year-old midfielder picked his spot and calmly chipped past the helpless Drobny.
Grosskreutz scored again three minutes into the second half, when he combined with Goetze before scoring at the second attempt from Drobny’s save.
Jansen thought he had pulled one back for Hamburg five minutes later, but the goal was ruled out for an apparent foul on goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller.
The home side’s intensity inevitably dropped, and there was late hope for Hamburg when Tesche scored six minutes after coming on as a substitute.
"It’s the first game here in Dortmund," said Hamburg coach Michael Oenning. "It’s not so easy for anyone to play here."