Lucien Favre Hails Significance of Opening Goal as Borussia Dortmund Thrash Atletico Madrid

Borussia Dortmund manager Lucien Favre believes scoring the first goal helped give his side the confidence to go on and record an emphatic 4-0 win against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.

Goals from Axel Witsel, Jadon Sancho and a brace from Raphael Guerreiro confirmed Dortmund's third win of Group A from their opening three games, compared to one point from their opening three games in the competition last season. 

Favre admitted in his post-match comments however, as quoted by the club's official website, that the result was largely down to Witsel's deflected effort in the 38th minute, which was the catalyst for his side's performance.

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"In the first 15 minutes, we worked hard but we weren't all there," said Favre following the win at the Signal Iduna Park. "Then it got better. Then we started passing well and creating chances. The first goal gave the team courage and confidence."

The win for Dortmund was their tenth n all competitions from just 12 games, while it's already the sixth occasion that Favre's side have scored at least four goals in a game.

It wasn't all plain sailing for Dortmund during the Group A clash, who had to withstand an improved Atletico Madrid at the start of the second half, with Saul Niguez hitting the crossbar shortly after the restart, although Favre was delighted with how his side reacted. 

"The first 15 to 20 minutes of the second half were very difficult for us," he added. 

"Atlético were dominating because we unnecessarily lost possession after winning it back. That had potential to be very dangerous. It was hard for us to win the ball back because they played very well.

"The second goal was where it changed. After that, we played better again. The most important thing for me is that we give it our all."