Two-goal Gittens gets Dortmund off to a winning start in Bundesliga with 2-0 win over Frankfurt

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Dortmund’s Jamie Gittens, right, and Frankfurt’s Rasmus Kristensen fight for the ball during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt at the Signal Iduna Park stadium, in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday Aug. 24, 2024. (Bernd Thissen/dpa via AP)

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Dortmund’s Nico Schlotterbeck, center, and Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitike, right, fight for the ball during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt at the Signal Iduna Park stadium, in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday Aug. 24, 2024. (Bernd Thissen/dpa via AP)

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Dortmund’s Nico Schlotterbeck, left, and Frankfurt’s Fares Chaibi fight for the ball during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt at the Signal Iduna Park stadium, in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday Aug. 24, 2024. (Bernd Thissen/dpa via AP)

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Dortmund’s Donyell Malen, 2nd from left, and Frankfurt’s Mario G’tze, center, fight for the ball during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt at the Signal Iduna Park stadium, in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday Aug. 24, 2024. (Bernd Thissen/dpa via AP)

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Freiburg’s Vincenzo Grifo, left, and Stuttgart’s Jamie Leweling in action during the Bundesliga soccer match between SC Freiburg and VfB Stuttgart at Europa-Park Stadium, Freiburg, Germany, Saturday Aug. 24, 2024. (Philipp von Ditfurth/dpa via AP)

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Freiburg’s Vincenzo Grifo, left, and Stuttgart’s Pascal Stenzel in action during the Bundesliga soccer match between SC Freiburg and VfB Stuttgart at Europa-Park Stadium, Freiburg, Germany, Saturday Aug. 24, 2024. (Philipp von Ditfurth/dpa via AP)

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Stuttgart’s Ermedin Demirovic, right, celebrates scoring with teammate Atakan Karazor during the Bundesliga soccer match between SC Freiburg and VfB Stuttgart at Europa-Park Stadium, Freiburg, Germany, Saturday Aug. 24, 2024. (Philipp von Ditfurth/dpa via AP)

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Stuttgart’s Maximilian Mittelstädt, right, and Freiburg’s Lukas Kubler in action during the Bundesliga soccer match between SC Freiburg and VfB Stuttgart at Europa-Park Stadium, Freiburg, Germany, Saturday Aug. 24, 2024. (Philipp von Ditfurth/dpa via AP)

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Union’s Laszlo Benes celebrates scoring during the Bundesliga soccer match between FSV Mainz 05 and 1. FC Union Berlin, at Mewa Arena, Mainz, Germany, Saturday Aug. 24, 2024. (Torsten Silz/dpa via AP)

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Mainz’s Nadiem Amiri celebrates scoring during the Bundesliga soccer match between FSV Mainz 05 and 1. FC Union Berlin, at Mewa Arena, Mainz, Germany, Saturday Aug. 24, 2024. (Torsten Silz/dpa via AP)

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Bremen’s Justin Njinmah celebrates scoring during the Bundesliga soccer match between FC Augsburg and Werder Bremen at WWK-Arena, Augsburg, Germany, Saturday Aug. 24, 2024. (Harry Langer/dpa via AP)

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A banner against Borussia Dortmund’s sponsorship deal with German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall is displayed during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt at the Signal Iduna Park stadium, in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday Aug. 24, 2024. (Bernd Thissen/dpa via AP)

By CIARÁN FAHEY

BERLIN (AP) — Jamie Gittens got Borussia Dortmund off to a winning start under new coach Nuri Sahin on Saturday with a 2-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt in their first Bundesliga game of the season.

Gittens scored both goals.

The match was marked by Dortmund fans’ protests against their club’s sponsorship deal with a German arms manufacturer.

Frankfurt’s Fares Chaibi had a big chance in the 71st minute but he was unable to react quickly enough to turn Niels Nkounkou’s fiercely struck cross into the goal from close range. The ball flew over.

Then Gittens made more of a harder chance at the other end a minute later, eluding a defender on the left of the penalty box before firing in under the crossbar from a narrow angle.

“Bang, far corner,” Gittens said. “I did that a lot of times in training.”

The 20-year-old winger sealed the win on a counterattack in the 90th.

“Victories are very important to help a process along. And that was good,” said Sahin, whose team opened its German Cup campaign with a 4-1 win over fourth-tier team Phönix Lübeck last week. “I gave the boys two days off (after beating Frankfurt), which they deserved.”

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Stuttgart stumbles

Bundesliga runner-up Stuttgart started the new season with a 3-1 loss at Freiburg.

Ermedin Demirović fired Stuttgart into an early lead at his former club with a scissors-kick in the second minute, but that was as good as it good for Sebastian Hoeneß’ team, which amassed a club-record points total last season.

Freiburg, which was playing its first league game since long-serving coach Christian Streich’s retirement, responded with three goals to give new coach Julian Schuster a winning start.

Leipzig holds on

Leipzig survived a sending off to beat Bochum 1-0.

Bochum was unable to capitalize on Leipzig captain Willi Orban’s late sending off for denying Myron Boadu a clear goal chance. The 19-year-old Antonio Nusa’s second-half strike on his Bundesliga debut was enough for Leipzig.

Holstein Kiel endured a tough welcome to the league in a 3-2 loss at Hoffenheim, where the promoted side conceded an early penalty and had a player sent off late.

Hoffenheim fans withheld support for their team amid a fallout with club management following the firing of sporting director Alexander Rosen in July.

Augsburg drew with Werder Bremen 2-2, and Mainz held Union Berlin 1-1 in the “Bo derby.” Union’s new coach Bo Svensson was back at his former club, where he faced Danish compatriot Bo Henriksen in charge of Mainz.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer