Borussia Dortmund thrashed Borussia Monchengladbach 4-0 as Thomas Tuchel celebrated an emphatic win in his first Bundesliga game in charge.
After last season's disappointment under Jurgen Klopp, Dortmund will be expected to challenge for Champions League qualification with Tuchel and they made the perfect start to the new campaign with a dominant display at Signal Iduna Park.
The early signs were worrying for Gladbach, who finished third last season, as Henrikh Mkhitaryan had a goal wrongly ruled out for offside after curling past Yann Sommer.
It was a small setback on a brilliant evening for Dortmund, and they took the lead when Mats Hummels and Shinji Kagawa combined to find Marco Reus, whose powerful half-volley started the scoring with just over 14 minutes on the clock.
The lead was soon doubled as Dortmund continued to threaten with their pace going forward, and last season's top goalscorer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was the beneficiary of a fine Marcel Schmelzer cross as he headed past the helpless Sommer.
Gladbach struggled to apply any pressure on the home defence and they were punished after losing the ball in a rare venture forward as Ilkay Gundogan released Aubameyang, who sprinted clear before giving Mkhitaryan the simple task of tapping into an empty net from a few yards out.
Dortmund were unfortunate not to add to their tally before the interval, with only a goal-line clearance from Raffael keeping out a Hummels header, before Kagawa fired wide from the edge of the box.
It was a familiar story early in the second half as Tuchel's side sliced open the Gladbach defence with apparent ease, and Reus held his nerve under pressure to pull the ball back for Mkhitaryan, who helped himself to a second goal with a calm finish into the corner.
In truth, Gladbach were fortunate not to concede at least two more goals on a disastrous evening for Lucien Favre, with Kagawa slicing a shot a few inches wide of the post after another mistake allowed the Japan international to find space.
Despite the ease in which they earned a comfortable advantage, chances were rare late on for Dortmund as Tuchel removed Aubameyang, Reus and Kagawa to relieve some of the pressure on the visitors.
On his Bundesliga debut for the club, Roman Burki continued to be a spectator in goal for the hosts as Dortmund cruised to an emphatic win on the opening day.
Callum Mulvihill
