Two ex-BVB professionals at the top
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On Wednesday evening, Borussia Dortmund came back twice against FC Barcelona and still had to admit defeat 2-3 in the end. The two Dortmund goals were scored by Serhou Guirassy, who has six goals after six games. He was successful in the Champions League for the eighth time in his career; only five professionals scored more often in their first ten appearances. The two professionals at the top also have a past at BVB.
With six goals, Guirassy takes second place along with Barcelona’s Raphinha in the current top scorer list for the 2024/25 Champions League. Only Robert Lewandowski was successful more often than the BVB attacker. For the first time in the premier class, the 28-year-old was able to prove himself in the Stade Rennes jersey in the 2020/21 season. He scored two goals for the French in four appearances.
Simone Inzaghi for Lazio, Harry Kane for Tottenham and Sadio Mané for Liverpool each scored nine times in their first ten games. Only Sébastien Haller and Erling Haaland, who also played for Borussia Dortmund, managed a double-digit number of goals. Haller scored eleven times in eight appearances for Ajax Amsterdam in the premier class in the 2021/22 season before moving to BVB for 31 million euros the following season. He failed to score in his first two games for Dortmund in the Champions League, meaning he was unable to break Haaland’s record.
Haaland made his debut for RB Salzburg in the premier class in September 2019 and scored eight goals in six appearances. In January 2020 he moved to BVB for a release clause of 20 million euros, where he scored two more goals in the knockout round. In the following season he was successful once in each of the first two games, putting him in first place with twelve goals in his first ten appearances. Haaland could soon become the professional who breaks the 50-goal mark fastest. This record is currently held by Ruud van Nistelrooy, who achieved this in 62 games. The Norwegian has 45 goals in 46 games.
After the defeat against Barcelona, BVB is in ninth place with twelve points and has direct qualification for the round of 16 in their own hands. The next two games will be against FC Bologna and Shakthar Donetsk. After Barça, who scored 21 times, Dortmund has the second best offense in the competition with 18 goals. A third of the goals go to Guirassy.
