Mario Goetze could not stop smiling after scoring his first goal for Borussia Dortmund since his return in their 6-0 demolition of Legia Warsaw in the Champions League on Wednesday.
The 24-year-old’s best appearance since his controversial return to Dortmund in the summer following a hapless three-year spell at rivals Bayern Munich could not have come at a better time.
Dortmund had their biggest-ever away win in the Champions League in their opening group match, setting a marker ahead of their game against reigning champions Real Madrid later this month.
Photo: EPA
Goetze left Dortmund in 2013 in even more controversial fashion, with his move announced — the most expensive for a German player at the time at 35 million euros (US$39.3 million at current exchange rates) — only weeks before they met Bayern in the Champions League final.
His transfer to their bitter German rivals sparked fury among fans, who had accused him of betraying the Ruhr valley club he had played for since childhood.
Goetze’s return this summer was an equally heated affair, with some fans angered by club bosses who welcomed him back with open arms.
Photo: EPA
However, few will now think it was a bad decision after his dazzling performance on Wednesday, with the player unable to suppress his smile.
“I feel great and looking forward to what lies ahead, you can see it on the pitch that I feel good,” he told reporters. “It was really fun being out there and we can really be satisfied.”
Once regarded as the most talented German player of his generation, the attacking midfielder was assured a place in the history books when he scored the winning goal in the 2014 World Cup final for Germany.
However, that was also the last of his major career highlights, having failed to settle at Bayern with coach Pep Guardiola and his successor Carlo Ancelotti refusing to guarantee playing time.
His return to Dortmund was a surprise for many, but Goetze brushed off his past few seasons with yet another smile.
“What corner?” he said when asked if he had finally turned the corner. “This was a goal for the team, the club and the Champions League.”
The creative player was deployed by Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel in his more natural position behind the forwards and it paid off.
A constant source of problems for the defense, Goetze increased the pace when needed, drew players on him and got on the scoresheet in an overall outstanding performance.
“One can see that things are now working out for him,” Dortmund sports director Michael Zorc said. “His lightness, his ease is coming back again. Of course there was never any doubt about his football skills.”
In other games, Juventus star striker Gonzalo Higuain was largely anonymous as his new side were held to a disappointing 0-0 draw by Sevilla in their opening group match at the Juventus Stadium, although he did go closest to breaking the deadlock shortly before the hour mark when he headed Dani Alves’ cross onto the crossbar.
Real Madrid were reminded that becoming the first club to retain the trophy in the Champions League era would not be an easy task, the 11-time champions needing a late winner from substitute Alvaro Morata to prevail 2-1 against Portugal’s Sporting.
AS Monaco defeated Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 at Wembley, while Bayer 04 Leverkusen failed to hold on to a 2-0 lead, letting CSKA Moscow rescue a point in a 2-2 draw.
Riyad Mahrez scored twice as Leicester City opened their maiden Champions League campaign with a comfortable 3-0 victory against Belgian champions Club Brugge, while Porto and Copenhagen drew 1-1.
Olympique Lyonnais relied on their homegrown players and the class of teenager Maxwel Cornet to open their campaign in style with a 3-0 defeat of Dinamo Zagreb and Sergio Aguero kept up his explosive start to the season by scoring a hat-trick for Manchester City in a 4-0 win over Borussia Moenchengladbach.
Additional reporting by AP
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