Bundesliga 2019/20: Borussia Dortmund begin campaign with thumping win over Augsburg

Eight-time Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund began their quest for a ninth German top-flight title with a thumping 5-1 win at home to Augsburg.

Dortmund handed a start to their returning centre-back Mats Hummels, winner of five Bundesliga titles (3 for Bayern and 2 for Dortmund), but were jolted in the first minute of the game when Florian Niederlechner opened the scoring for the visitors.

Paco Alcacer provided an immediate response for Dortmund as he restored parity in the third minute. The game settled down after a frantic opening and both teams went into half time with a goal apiece.

Young Englishman Jadon Sancho's goal six minutes into the second half gave Dortmund the lead for the first time in the match which they never relinquished. Two soon became three for the home side as Alcacer scored his second of the game to join Robert Lewandowski atop the scoring charts.

Marco Reus netted a third goal for Dortmund in the space of eight second-half minutes, putting the game beyond the visitors.

Substitute Julian Brandt administered the coup de grace when he latched on to a fine cross from Axel Witsel eight minutes from time to beat the Augsburg keeper with a fine first-time finish.

The start of something special 💛 pic.twitter.com/vX1LfjF6sg

— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow) August 17, 2019

It was an emphatic statement of intent from Dortmund who strutted their title credentials following defending champions Bayern Munich's stuttering start to the season.

Both Dortmund and Bayern will hit the road for their next set of matches, with Dortmund traveling to newly-promoted Union Berlin and Bayern heading to Schalke.

Dortmund, runner-up in the last two seasons, certainly have the personnel to end Bayern's seven-year Bundesliga stranglehold. However, it remains to be seen if they can build on their strong start and go all the way, something they failed to do last time around.