Gio Reyna scores but Erling Haaland grabs headlines in Dortmund’s Bundesliga opener

U.S. national team star Gio Reyna started and scored in Borussia Dortmund’s 5-2 home win against Eintracht Frankfurt to open the club’s 2021-22 Bundesliga season Saturday. But Erling Haaland was once again the story, factoring in every goal with three assists and two tallies of his own.

It was a show of strength for the title hopefuls as they brushed aside a Frankfurt team that finished fifth last season. Although the visitors momentarily equalized on an own goal, the match was never really close as Dortmund ran rampant to a 3-1 halftime lead and a 5-1 lead by the 70th minute.

Reyna’s goal was the team’s fourth. He finished off a cutback pass from an inspired Haaland:

“I was pretty positive I was onside; that’s why I celebrated,” Reyna said postgame. “I was in the right place at the right time. Just kind of extended the lead. So it’s an important goal for the team and it was good to have the first game with a goal. And we look forward to Tuesday now [a Super Cup match vs. Bayern Munich].”

The goal was Reyna’s ninth for Dortmund and his fifth in the Bundesliga. The 18-year-old American’s last goal for the club came in April in another lopsided home win, that time against Werder Bremen.

Dortmund’s next match will be the aforementioned German Super Cup meeting with Bayern Munich, followed by a Saturday league match at Freiburg. The club will close out August with a home match against Hoffenheim before Reyna presumably joins the USMNT for World Cup qualifiers in September.

Haaland’s stunning scoring record

The price for the 21-year-old Haaland will only rise at this pace.

He continued to show why he’s one of the most in-demand forwards in global soccer by adding to his jaw-dropping goal-scoring total. He has had a hand in all eight goals scored by Dortmund in its two official matches of 2021-22. He scored all three in the DFB Pokal German Cup win over third-division side SV Wehen Wiesbaden.

His career numbers for the club are eye-popping. It’s no wonder he’s being linked with all the big clubs, including Chelsea, Manchester City, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Barcelona:

Although the Norwegian’s contract with Dortmund runs until June 2024, it is believed a release clause for just under $100 million will activate in June 2022. The German side has not been in a rush to entertain suitors. It acquired him from Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg in December 2019 for a transfer fee reported to be about $22 million.

“What can I say? It’s a good day to have the fans back,” Haaland said. “Today was easy to be motivated. I had goosebumps when we went out [on the field]. It was amazing to play in front of fans today. It’s free motivation and I missed them a lot.”

“‘Machine’ is the best word [to describe Haaland],” Reyna said of his teammate. “He does so much for the team. But most importantly, going forward for us he’s so important on the counter — goals, assists. Team player. We’re all really, really happy to have him. We’re looking forward to the season as a team and creating more goals together.”

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