Werder Bremen began their bid to bounce back up to the Bundesliga at the first time of asking with a draw at home to fellow promotion candidates Hannover on Saturday, a day after Hamburg came from behind to make a winning start against Schalke in the 2021/22 Bundesliga 2 curtain-raiser.

Schalke 1-3 Hamburg
Goals: 1-0 Terodde (7'), 1-1 Glatzel (53'), 1-2 Heyer (86'), 1-3 Jatta (90')

Simon Terodde needed just eight minutes to open his account for the Royal Blues, although he had to wait before celebrating as VAR checked he was not offside. Dominick Drexler won the ball in midfield with a committed tackle and Marius Bülter sent Terodde through on goal, with the former Hamburg forward supplying a neat finish past Daniel Heuer Fernandes. Hamburg did not panic, though, and they had the chance to level when Florian Flick caught the back of David Kinsombi's leg inside the penalty area, but Robert Glatzel's spot-kick was saved by Michael Langer.

Glatzel finally managed to get a fast-improving Hamburg level early in the second half when he pounced on a loose ball after Langer plucked Tim Leibold's excellent direct free-kick out of the top corner, but only pushed it out for the Hamburg forward. Schalke had a glorious opportunity to regain the lead within minutes when Thomas Ouwejan missed a one-on-one with Heuer Fernandes, and Terodde almost scrambled in a second with two quick-fire efforts. Both sides sought a winner with intense, attacking football and it was the guests who found it with Moritz Heyer placing his effort through a pack of players from Maximilian Rohr's cut-back. Schalke had two late chances to level, but it was Hamburg who struck again and sealed victory with Bakery Jatta volleying in Sonny Kittel's cross from point-blank range. The return of 19,770 fans to the Veltins Arena was at least something for Schalke to celebrate, as Bundesliga 2 football returned with a bang.

Match stats

• Glatzel scored his first goal for Schalke after signing from Cardiff City as a replacement for Terodde, who joined Schalke.
• Schalke's first two seasons in the second tier ended in immediate promotion back to the Bundesliga. Their most recent stint lasted three years, before they went up as 1990/91 Bundesliga 2 champions.
• The Royal Blues won 38 of their 100 Bundesliga meetings with HSV, but also lost 38, drawing 24. This was their first defeat in eight home games against the Red Shorts.
• Jatta had a direct hand in nine Bundesliga goals last season, scoring five. He opened his scoring for the season with the final goal tonight.
• HSV were the highest-scoring team in Bundesliga 2 last term (71 goals).

Line-ups

Schalke: Langer - Thiaw, Flick (Becker 56'), Kaminski - Ranftl, Palsson, Ouwejan - Drexler (Krasniqi 73'), Latza (c) (Idrizi 32') - Terodde, Bülter
Unused subs: Fraisl, Aydin, Calhanoglu, Mercan, Pieringer, Wouters
Out: Fährmann (not included), Hoppe (international duty), Matondo (knee)
Doubtful: -
Coach: Dimitrios Grammozis

Hamburg: Heuer Fernandes - Gyamerah, Schonlau (c), David, Leibold - Meffert, Reis (Heyer 67'), Kinsombi (Rohr 71') - Wintzheimer (Kittel 78') - Glatzel (Kaufmann 78'), Jatta
Unused subs: Oppermann, Gjasula, Muheim, Opoku, Leistner
Out: Ambrosius (ankle), Bates (muscular), Kittel (leg), Mickel (shoulder), Vagnoman (muscular)
Doubtful: -
Coach: Tim Walter

Matchday 1: round-up

Werder Bremen 1-1 Hannover
Goals: 1-0 Falette (og 49'), 1-1 Ducksch (56')

Bremen began their bid to bounce straight back up to the Bundesliga with a tough encounter at home to fellow promotion hopefuls Hannover. The hosts began the brighter of the sides and had more possession, but lacked incision in the final third. Bremen edged ahead early in the second half, however, when Niklas Schmidt's teasing corner forced an own goal from Simon Falette. The away side hit back just minutes later through Marvin Ducksch's eye-catching lob, and Hannover looked the most likely to grab a winner, with Ducksch squandering a promising chance as the game ended in a draw.

Watch: Highlights of Bremen's draw with Hannover

Dynamo Dresden 3-0 Ingolstadt
Goals: 1-0 Darfener (41), 2-0 Darfener (56'), 3-0 Mörschel (67')

Dresden made an impressive start to their first season back in Bundesliga 2 with a comfortable win over fellow promoted side Ingolstadt. Christoph Daferner gave the hosts the lead before the break, after Brandon Borrello had hit the post, and Daferner's second soon after the interval put Dresden on course for a win, which was sealed midway through the second half by Heinz Mörschel.

Darmstadt 0-2 Regensburg
Goals: 0-1 Singh (21'), 0-2 Gimber (61')

A weakened Darmstadt, due to a long list of absentees, could not cope with Regensburg, although the hosts almost had an early lead when Enrich Berko hit the inside of the post. Sarpreet Singh put the Bavarians in front from David Otto's assist after 20 minutes, and Benedikt Gimber's spectacular long-range effort on the hour mark sealed victory for Regensburg.

Heidenheim 0-0 Paderborn

Both teams took a while to get going in their first outing of the season, and after an uneventful first half the hosts began to increasingly seize control as the match wore on. Substitute Marvin Rittmüller had the best chance of the game in the 70th minute, but his defelcted shot was well saved by Paderborn goalkeeper Jannik Huth, leaving both teams to settle for a point.

Hansa Rostock 1-3 Karlsruhe
Goals: 0-1 Kobald (42'), 0-2 P. Hofmann (44'), 1-2 Verhoek (52'), 1-3 S. Jung (78')

Kalrsruhe were on contention for promotion for much of 2020/21 before falling away at the end of the campaign, and they showed they mean business once again here with a clinical display. The home side, who were promoted from the third division at the end of last season, showed plenty of fighting spirit and determination, but two quick-fire Karlsruhe goals just before the break steered them on the path to victory. Hansa pulled one back after the interval, but Sebastian Jung sealed the victory for the visitors in the closing stages.

St. Pauli 3-0 Holstein Kiel
Goals: 1-0 Paqarada (11'), 2-0 Kyereh (62'), 3-0 Burgstaller (90'+1)

St. Pauli stormed into the new season with a stunning goal from Leart Paqarada from fully 25 yards out giving them an early lead against Holstein Kiel. The hosts' persistent efforts to double their lead were finally rewarded after an hour when Kofi Kyereh met Finn Becker's low cross at the far post. Kyereh though he had added a spectacular acrobatic third, but VAR ruled an early candidate for goal of the season out for offside. Pauli got their third late on with Guido Burgstaller's header putting the seal on an impressive win for Timo Schultz's men.

Watch: All the goals from St. Pauli's big opening day win!

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Nuremberg 0-0 Erzgebirge Aue

Nuremberg stumbled into the new Bundesliga 2 season with a disappointing goalless draw at home to Erzgebirge Aue, with Robert Klauß' men punished for their profligacy in front of over 11,000 fans at their Max-Morlock-Stadion home. Dennis Borkowski missed the best chance for the hosts in the second half, the 19-year-old doing everything right up to the finish, which missed the target. In the first half, Erik Shuranov failed to beat Martin Männel in a one-on-one, as Nuremberg had to settle for just a draw.

Sandhausen 0-2 Fortuna Düsseldorf
Goals: 0-1 Hennings (56'), 0-2 Hennings (62', pen.)

Two goals in five second-half minutes earned Fortuna Düsseldorf a winning start to the season, with Rouwen Hennings opening the scoring in the 56th minute with a neat shot on the turn before adding his and Fortuna's second from the penalty spot. Substitute Dawid Kownacki could and perhaps should have added a third with a free header late on, but Fortuna took the spoils in Sandhausen without needing a third goal.

Watch: Top 5 goals of Matchday 1

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