Borussia Dortmund made a return to competitive action with a resounding 4-0 win over their fiercest of rivals, Schalke in the Revierderby.
This was the first competitive match in Germany and across Europe taking place after Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel made the decision to allow football to return, albeit behind closed doors.
In what wouldn’t come as a surprise to many, there was a cagey start to the game before Erling Braut Haaland continued where he left off before the season was halted with a sublime finish by opening up his body and flicking home Thorgen Hazard’s cross to open the scoring shortly before the half hour mark.
Raphael Guerreiro (45′) and’ Hazard (48′) traded goals either side of half time before Guerreiro completed his brace on 63 minutes. The latter a composed finish and the former a thunderbolt passed goalkeeper Markus Schubert after a quick fire counter attack.
Schalke manager David Wagner’s defensive and goalkeeping woes continued as Schubert was directly at fault for Dortmund’s second after failing to clear his lines with Haaland haring down on him.
Strict hygiene protocols saw the Dortmund and Schalke players arrive on multiple buses, use several changing rooms and then enter the pitch by different routes.
Warm-ups were staggered and the coaching staff and substitutes wore masks and were all separated by two metres as they took their place on the sidelines.
In a stadium that is known around the world for its fans and colour often provided by the infamous ‘Yellow Wall’, it was an eerie atmosphere only to be interrupted by the sound of the referee’s whistle and interludes of crowd cheers played over the stadium’s tannoys.
Elite football may have returned in Europe but it is someway off getting back to where it was before the pandemic struck. But we must hold onto the fact that football is indeed back!
