Borussia Dortmund manager Niko Kovac was happy with his side after their 2-0 win over Hamburg on Saturday.
First-half goals from Serhou Guirassy and Giannis Konstantelias gave them a winning start in the 2026-27 Bundesliga season.
The Guinean striker opened the scoring after nine minutes following a lovely one-two with Konstantinos Karetsas for his first goal of the season.
Konstantelias made it 2-0 in the added minutes of the half albeit with the help of slight deflection, to mark his Bundesliga debut for the club with a goal.
With a two-goal cushion heading into the break, Dortmund were firmly in the driving seat and Kovac revealed that it made him 'happy':
"I was hoping for a win. The way we pulled it off, especially in the first half, makes me very happy. That’s the kind of football we’re capable of playing and the kind we need to play — especially at home. It has left us wanting more."he told the press after the game
Dortmund, however, appeared to lose steam after the break, particularly following Konstantelias' injury while also going a man down after Samuele Inacio's red card in the 77th minute.
Hamburg rallied after the break and controlled more possession with Patson Daka even rattling the crossbar, but goals remained elusive.
Kovac further added that his team created enough chances in the game to win it.
"For me, what matters most is how many chances we created. That's because the more chances you have, the higher the likelihood that you’ll win games. "
With three points and a goal-difference of +2, Die Borussen are in fifth position of the Bundesliga table after the first round of games.
However, the win felt like a Pyrrhic victory for them as Konstantelias went off with an injury early in the second half.
A duel with Bakey Jatta saw the Greek land awkwardly on the floor and was seen limping off the pitch, raising injury concerns as Kovac revealed after the game that doctors weren't optimistic.
Last night, the club officially confirmed that he's suffered a torn ACL and will be sidelined for several months; a huge blow for Dortmund.
Signed on a €26 million transfer from PAOK Thessaloniki, the 23-year-old had made a fast start to life in Dortmund, creating a goal in the Supercup loss to Bayern and then scoring against Hamburg on his league debut.
Borussia Dortmund next play HEBC in the first round of the DFB-Pokal on Tuesday, 1 September.
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