BERLIN: French striker Anthony Modeste thanked Dortmund manager Edin Terzic after his first-half goal gave his side a narrow 1-0 win away at Hertha Berlin on Saturday.
Modeste headed in a cross from Salish Ozan, who also arrived from Cologne this summer, in the 32dn minute to put Dortmund 1-0 up.
Modeste, who is known for his theatrical celebrations which often involve dancing and even props, ran emotionally to Dortmund manager Edin Terzic and embraced him after scoring.
Speaking to Sky after the match, Modeste credited his winner to Terzic.
“I’m so glad to score my first goal. It took its time, but it was really important.”
“I’ve copped so much (since arriving at Dortmund), but the manager was always there for me.”
Dortmund, who suffered heavy criticism after throwing away a 2-0 lead in the 88th minute to lose 3-2 to Weider Bremen last Saturday, endured a nervy end to the match but held on to record their third win of the season.
The goal was Modeste’s eighth against Hertha in 11 appearances.
Dortmund have scored 10 goals in competitive fixtures this season, each from a different scorer.
Elsewhere, Union Berlin moved alone on top of the table, at least until Saturday’s late game, after a 6-1 win away at Schalke.
Braces from Heraldship Becker and Sven Michel, along with strikes from Morten Thorsby and Janik Haberer gave Union a dominant victory.
The Berlin club, who will begin their first ever Europa League campaign in September, are unbeaten (four wins and a draw) after five competitive games in 2022-23.
Berlin coach Urs Fischer did not want his team to get carried away with the “lucky” win.
“Our 3-1 half-time lead was lucky. Sc halke were better, more aggressive and more agile than us,” the Swiss manager told Germany’s SID.
“What was good was that we were more efficient.”
RB Leipzig gained their first Bundestags win of the season with a 2-0 home victory over Wolfsburg.
Leipzig’s French forward Christopher Nkunku converted a penalty after five minutes to open the scoring.
Former Chelsea striker Timo Werner, who started from the bench after an infection, set up Nkunku’s second in the 90th minute to relieve some pressure from Leipzig coach Domenico Tedesco.
Bayer Leverkusen picked up their first points of the season with a 3-0 win away at Mainz.
Leverkusen, who had scored just one goal in three Bundesliga games and had already been eliminated from the German Cup, scored three first-half goals, including a brace for Dutch wing back Jeremie Frimpong.
Hoffenheim won their third game of the season with a hard-fought 1-0 home victory over Augsburg, thanks to a first-half goal from Dennis Geiger.
In Saturday’s late game, Bayern Munich have the chance to reclaim top place if they beat the visiting Borussia Moenchengladbach.