BERLIN : Karim Bellarabi scored the quickest goal in 52 seasons of the Bundesliga to help Bayer Leverkusen beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 in the opening round on Saturday.
Bellarabi scored nine seconds after kickoff, beating the previous record of 11 seconds set by Giovane Elber for Bayern Munich in January 1998, Ulf Kirsten for Leverkusen in March 2002 and Paul Freier for Bochum in May 2003.
Hakan Calhanoglu passed the ball to Son Heung-min, who played Sebastian Boenisch through. Boenisch passed to Bellarabi, who eluded Dortmund defender Matthias Ginter and slotted inside the left post from 12 meters.
"We did a lot of things very well," said Leverkusen coach Roger Schmidt after his Bundesliga debut. "We constantly attacked the opponents and stayed very active."
Dortmund's efforts were frustrated by disciplined defending and intense pressure, particularly in the first half with the visitors tiring in the second. "It was a very scrappy game. There was hardly any space," Dortmund midfielder Sebastian Kehl said.
Leverkusen keeper Bernd Leno made a host of saves to deny the home side a late equalizer, before Bellarabi set up Stefan Kiessling to secure the result in the fifth minute of injury time.
"In the end you have to grit your teeth, but when a result like this comes out of it, then it helps you forget the pain," Kiessling said. Leverkusen holds a 3-2 lead over FC Copenhagen ahead of the home leg of their Champions League qualifier on Wednesday.
Earlier, Schalke let a one-goal lead slip by conceding twice in three minutes to lose to Hannover 2-1. Klaas Jan Huntelaar opened the scoring with a tap-in when Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting set him up two minutes into the second half, but Edgar Prib equalized for Hannover in the 67th after a great run and cross from Leonardo Bittencourt.
Prib broke quickly three minutes later and set up Joselu for what proved to be the winning goal. "Our plan worked until the 67th minute," said Schalke coach Jens Keller, whose side crashed out of the first round of the German Cup after losing to third-division Dynamo Dresden 2-1 on Monday.
Also Saturday, promoted Cologne drew 0-0 with visiting Hamburger SV on its return to the Bundesliga after two seasons in the second division. "After 75 goals (conceded) in the previous season, a scoreless draw is good," said Hamburg coach Mirko Slomka.
Haris Seferovic's 15th-minute goal on his Bundesliga debut was enough for Eintracht Frankfurt to beat Freiburg 1-0. The Swiss striker scooped the loose ball inside the post after Freiburg's defense failed to clear.
"We can play much, much better. We made too many simple mistakes. But I don't want to complain," said Frankfurt coach Thomas Schaaf on his return to the Bundesliga after a season away.
Werder Bremen came from two goals down to draw 2-2 at Hertha Berlin and Hoffenheim defeated Augsburg 2-0 at home. Julian Schieber scored with Hertha's first attack in the 18th minute and the former Borussia Dortmund striker claimed his second in the 47th as the home side had most of the chances.
Assani Lukimya pulled one back against the run of play six minutes later and Franco di Santo equalized two minutes after that for the visitors. Adam Szalai got Hoffenheim off the mark in the 33rd after Augsburg missed several chances to clear, two minutes before Tarik Elyounoussi made it 2-0 with the visitors' defense still in disarray.
Defending champion Bayern Munich kicked off the season Friday with a 2-1 win over visiting Wolfsburg.
