Dortmund up and running with Marseille scalp

Borussia Dortmund kick-started their tilt at a second straight UEFA Champions League final with a convincing 3-0 victory over Olympique de Marseille in Group F.

The Bundesliga leaders brought their impressive domestic form back to the European stage with a dominant showing and deservedly went in front when Robert Lewandowski capped a trademark breakaway with a simple finish. When Marco Reus's free-kick caught out Marseille keeper Steve Mandanda to make it two early in the second half there was no way back for last season's Ligue 1 runners-up, who conceded again late on as Lewandowski added a third from the spot.

Shorn of their effervescent coach Jürgen Klopp on the touchline, last term's beaten finalists were certainly not lacking vibrancy on the pitch as they sought to make amends for their matchday one defeat at SSC Napoli. Reus twice caught the OM defence napping early on, blasting one loose ball over and seeing another left-footed effort pushed away by Mandanda.

Subsequently, it came as little surprise to see Reus at the heart of Dortmund's opener on 19 minutes. The lively winger combined superbly with Henrikh Mkhitaryan as the Schwarzgelben scythed through the visitors' midfield. Mkhitaryan looked to have overcooked the final ball, yet competition debutant Eric Durm collected it on the left and rolled unselfishly across for Lewandowski to tap home.

Marseille almost hit back straight away, but Mitchell Langerak, between the posts for BVB in the absence of suspended captain Roman Weidenfeller, got down well to turn Mathieu Valbuena's free-kick around the upright. Still, it was the hosts who should have added to the scoreline moments later as Kevin Grosskreutz picked out Lewandowski free in the box, only for Mandanda to save brilliantly with his leg to deny the Polish international from point-blank range.

Apart from a Dimitri Payet shot which Langerak comfortably held, Dortmund remained in the ascendancy either side of the interval and there was no begrudging them a rather fortuitous second goal seven minutes after the restart as Mandanda, partially unsighted, fumbled Reus's searching free-kick into the net.

The France custodian went some way towards redeeming himself with an expert stop to keep out Durm's finish as the youngster ran clean through approaching the hour, though the damage had already been done to Élie Baup's team. Dortmund controlled the latter stages, wrapping up the points ten minutes from time as the excellent Reus was felled by Nicolas N'Koulou in the area, allowing Lewandowski to convert his second from the spot.