Dortmund debut hat trick

Borussia Dortmund put four unanswered goals past hosts Augsburg on Saturday, despite struggling to dominate their opponents for much of the match.

Gabonese winger Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, a 15-million-euro ($20-million) summer signing, scored Dortmund's first three goals. His first was a back-post header off a Marcel Schmelzer cross from the left flank.

The speedy forward added two more after the break in Bavaria, ensuring Dortmund won their opening game more decisively than Bayern Munich on Friday. Robert Lewandowski scored Dortmund's fourth from the penalty spot after man-of-the-match Aubameyang had been subbed off, his damage done for the day.

Armenian Henrikh Mkhitaryan, an even more expensive Dortmund new boy, was sidelined with injury for the league curtain-raiser.

Hertha humble Fankfurt

Hertha Berlin didn't miss a beat on their return to the German top flight, winning 6-1 against Frankfurt in the capital. Strikers Adrian Ramos and Sami Allagui picked up a pair of goals apiece, with debutante defender John Anthony Brooks and substitute Ronny also finding the net.

The Brazilian Ronny, a standout in the second division last season, was only on the bench after returning carrying a bit of a belly after his summer holidays at home.

Frankfurt, meanwhile, were all at sea in defense in the second half - not looking ready for Europa League football at this early stage in the season.

Around the grounds

In the other afternoon matches, Hanover beat 9-man Wolfsburg - who had Maximilian Arnold and Ja-Cheol Koo sent off - by two goals to nil on home turf.

Hoffenheim raced into a two-goal lead against visitors Nuremberg, only to allow their guests a pair of goals in under five minutes to tie the game; it finished 2-2.

Champions League competitors Bayer Leverkusen proved too much for Europa League qualifiers Freiburg, winning 3-1 on home turf. Another new signing, Heung-Min Son from Hamburg, scored on his Bundesliga debut with Leverkusen. Last season's Bundesliga top scorer, Stefan Kiessling, had opened the scoring for Sami Hyypia's side, while Sidney Sam hit Leverkusen's third.

Defeated after 28-year absence

Eintracht Braunschweig lost their first Bundesliga game since the 1980s in the evening fixture, despite raucous home support against Werder Bremen. Bremen had the better of the first half, but Braunschweig were an occasional threat on the counter against heavily favored opposition.

When Bremen finally opened the scoring, 82 minutes into the game, the goal came against the run of play. Braunschweig had begun to turn the screws against tired Bremen legs, only to fall foul of a route-one breakaway. Midfielder Zlatko Junuzovic latched on to a long ball over the top from defense, fending off the last man and firing high into the roof of the net. Already somewhat blunt in attack, the newly-promoted hosts could not find an answer in the remaining 10 minutes.

Coach Robin Dutt's Bremen therefore secured a crucial, if not particularly impressive, three points; it was their first win since February in last season's disastrous campaign.