Bundesliga restarts with empty stadium

Erling Haaland scored the Bundesliga’s first goal in more than two months and then celebrated Alone.

The 19-year-old’s Borussia Dortmund teammates stayed away, mindful of the strict hygiene measures amid the coronavirus pandemic, as Germany’s football season resumed in unprecedented conditions on Saturday.

Dortmund defeated Schalke 4-0 in the first Ruhr derby to be played in an empty stadium. Calls and shouts from coaching staff and players, and the thud of the sanitized ball being



kicked, reverberated around the mainly deserted stands.

Players had been warned to keep their emotions in check, and to desist from spitting, handshakes and hugging, in a game keenly watched by the rest of the football world hoping to restart their own leagues.

Haaland celebrated his opening goal with a restrained dance as his teammates stayed back.

“It’s hard,” midfielder Julian Brandt said. “But that’s the way it is now. We try to stick to the rules.”