Borussia Dortmund defeats Paderborn 3-0 as Freiburg tops Bundesliga table after 5-0 rout

Three matches into the 2026-27 Bundesliga season and the table has an unfamiliar name sitting at the top. SC Freiburg lead the German top flight on goal difference after demolishing Borussia Mönchengladbach 5-0 on September 12, 2026. Borussia Dortmund kept pace with a 3-0 win over SC Paderborn at Signal Iduna Park, but their +6 goal difference trails Freiburg’s +9.

Both clubs sit on nine points from three matches.

Dortmund’s win was messier than the scoreline suggests

Fábio Silva opened the scoring in the fifth minute, giving Dortmund exactly the start they wanted against newly promoted Paderborn. Serhou Guirassy had two goals ruled out for offside in the first half, meaning Dortmund went into the break with only a single-goal cushion despite dominating possession and shot attempts.

Substitute Felix Nmecha finally broke the deadlock wide open. His first goal in the 80th minute came via bicycle kick. He added a second in the 89th minute to put the result beyond any doubt.

Freiburg’s perfect start is historically significant

Their 5-0 dismantling of Borussia Mönchengladbach gave them a perfect record of three wins from three matches to open the season. Yannik Engelhardt scored twice. Igor Matanovic also bagged a brace. Maximilian Eggestein added to the tally.

On the other end, Gladbach’s winless start to the season through three matches left them with a -7 goal difference.

Dortmund juggling multiple fronts

Just four days before the Paderborn match, Dortmund edged Villarreal 3-2 in their Champions League opener on September 8, 2026. Injuries to key players Giannis Konstantelias and Konstantinos Karetsas forced the club to dip into the transfer market. Dortmund secured Ethan Nwaneri on loan from Arsenal, adding a young creative option to help cover the absences.

The broader Bundesliga picture from Matchweek 3 featured Augsburg holding defending champions Bayer Leverkusen to a 2-2 draw.

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