Borussia Dortmund defeated Copenhagen 3-0 in its Champions League opener on Tuesday, with two goals coming from American international Gio Reyna.
With Manchester City playing at Sevilla later in the group, Dortmund, the 1997 champion that fell short of moving past the group stage last season, took early control of the group.
At the end of the first half, Dortmund captain Marco Reus and Raphael Guerreiro scored in quick succession after Carlos Zeca of Copenhagen had struck the goal post in the opening minute. Jude Bellingham, a teenager from England, added one more late in the second half.
“We feel like we’ve got a bit of a point to prove in this competition, myself and the team,” Bellingham said. “This is a good way to start off. … I think we were pretty good, pretty dominant.”
Reus scored off a counterattack for his 22nd goal in 57 Champions League games, and seven minutes later Guerreiro and Reyna combined on a pass and a finish.
After a series of quick passes, the 19-year-old Bellingham found the goal, with Reyna providing the final cross. Midway through the first half, Reyna, who is also 19, entered as a substitute and immediately added energy. In his first game for the team, Dortmund’s backup goalkeeper Alexander Meyer made a challenging save shortly after the break.
Dortmund had numerous other opportunities, but none of them were successful, and Copenhagen, which had not participated in the competition for six years, had a late goal ruled out for offside by the video assistant referee. Dortmund will travel to City in the upcoming round of games, while Copenhagen will host Sevilla.
