A crowd of 73,300 came out to Dortmund's Signal Iduna Park ground to see Bayer Leverkusen win over Dortmund in a match between two sides which are expected to be among the title challengers this season.

Leverkusen welcomed back German midfielder Michael Ballack following his much-awaited move from Chelsea.

His teammates Traquillo Barnetta and Renato Augusto scored two goals in the first half to beat Dortmund 2-0.

Mainz on form

Mainz kicked off their season with an impressive 2-0 victory over visitors Stuttgart, with both goals coming from new signings.

Tunisian striker Sami Allagui scored from the edge of the box in the 26th minute, before Morten Rasmussen, on loan from Celtic, doubled their lead with a dipping header from 16 meters early in the second half.

Stuttgart take on Slovan Bratislava on Thursday in the return leg of Europa League qualifying. The Germans won the first leg in Slovakia 1-0.

After the first weekend of Bundesliga action, Hoffenheim have an early lead in the league table, courtesy of their 4-1 home win against Werder Bremen on Saturday.

Author: Joanna Impey (dpa/Reuters)
Editor: Kyle James