dortmund vs villarreal: Guirassy seals 3-2 opener
Borussia Dortmund beat Villarreal 3-2 in their Champions League opener at Signal Iduna Park, with Serhou Guirassy scoring twice and reaching a club milestone…
DORTMUND — Borussia Dortmund beat Villarreal 3-2 at Signal Iduna Park in their Champions League opener on Tuesday, with Serhou Guirassy scoring twice to settle a wild second half. The result gave Dortmund a winning start to their European campaign after a match that swung sharply after the break.
It was a game of momentum shifts. Dortmund went ahead through a Renato Veiga own goal in the 53rd minute, Villarreal answered through Santiago Mourino, and then Guirassy took over with a close-range finish and a penalty before a late own goal made the final score tighter than it had to be.
dortmund vs villarreal and Guirassy’s milestone night
Guirassy’s brace carried extra weight. According to Goal, the Guinea international marked his 100th appearance for Borussia Dortmund in dramatic fashion, while also surpassing Robert Lewandowski in the club’s all-time European scoring charts. He finished the night with 64 goals in 100 competitive appearances for BVB and 19 goals in 25 Champions League matches for the club.
Speaking to Prime after the final whistle, Guirassy said: “I'm very, very happy to have played a hundred games for Dortmund - I didn't even realise that. Of course, it's something very special to break Lewandowski's record, because he's a great striker.”
He added: “It was a strange game tonight - a crazy game. We could have done better, but we're happy with the win.”
How the match turned after half-time
ESPN’s match timeline said the opening period was largely forgettable, aside from a worrying injury to Konstantinos Karetsas and a flurry of late bookings. The pace changed after the interval. Dortmund’s own goal lead drew Villarreal into the contest, but the hosts kept finding moments in the final third.
Fabio Silva made a sharp impact from the bench and helped Dortmund regain control. He surged down the right and delivered the ball that Guirassy finished from close range for 2-1, before Mourino brought him down at a corner and conceded the penalty that made it 3-1.
Villarreal kept pushing and got a late break when Dortmund’s number nine turned a free-kick into his own net in stoppage time, trimming the margin to one. ESPN said Dortmund finished above their 2.83 xG, while Villarreal ended above their 1.34 xG in a match that stayed open until the final whistle.
What the result changes
The win matters because Dortmund now have points on the board immediately in a league-phase campaign where early results shape the pressure that follows. A home opener that threatened to slip became three points, even if the performance left room for concern at the back.
BBC’s live coverage noted that Dortmund were among the sides to start their Champions League campaigns with a win on Tuesday. Villarreal, meanwhile, leave Germany with another frustrating night in a season ESPN described as drab across all fronts.
Dortmund now switch back to Bundesliga duty this weekend, with Guirassy’s milestone and two-goal haul arriving on a night that ended 3-2 and left one statistic standing out most: 19 Champions League goals in 25 matches for BVB.
