Kevin Grosskreutz scored the first goal of the 49th Bundesliga season and then added another yesterday to give Borussia Dortmund a 3-1 home win over Hamburger SV and the best start to their title defence.

Grosskreutz scored in the 17th and 48th minutes for the defending champions, with Mario Goetze's wonderful 29th minute effort sandwiched in between.

Substitute Robert Tesche scored a consolation goal in the 79th, blasting the ball through a crowd of defenders after Shinji Kagawa had cleared Marcell Jansen's header off the line.

The action kicked off following a short pre-match programme and season-opening speech by League Association president Dr. Reinhard Rauball, who promised a season of “outstanding games.”

Dortmund took the bit between their teeth early on against Michael Oenning's radically rejuvenated young HSV side.

Borussia broke early. Mario Gotze freed up Kevin Grosskreutz down the right and the hometown favourite moved into the box before firing a low shot in off the right-hand post.

True to form, BVB continued to press having gone in front and eight minutes later Piszczek played Kagawa through and the Japanese midfielder left two markers trailing before drilling his shot against the post. With just under half an hour on the clock, Ilkay Gündogan fed Gotze who played a sweet one-two with Robert Lewandowski before clinically slotting his finish past HSV keeper Jaroslav Drobny.

Three minutes into the second half, Dortmund went 3-0 up. A passing sequence following a corner, involving Gotze, Kagawa and Piszczek, ended with the former playing the ball in for Grosskreutz, who stabbed it home at the second attempt.

Hamburg pulled one back with eleven minutes to go when Robert Tesche, fresh off the bench, took advantage of some confusion inside the Dortmund area to stick the ball past Weidenfeller from close range.