'Fabio is on fire' – Kobel hails Silva's influence in Dortmund's Champions League opener

Gregor Kobel lauded Fabio Silva's recent impact for Borussia Dortmund, saying he is "on fire" after he came off the bench to help them beat Villarreal.

Dortmund got their Champions League campaign off to a winning start, edging the Spanish side 3-2 at Signal Iduna Park.

A Renato Veiga own goal got the scoring started early in the second half before Santiago Mourino levelled for the visitors.

However, Serhou Guirassy was then teed up by Silva to put Dortmund back in front before scoring a penalty that served as the winner after the forward scored a stoppage-time own goal.

Dortmund have now won their first home game in seven of the last nine Champions League campaigns, remaining unbeaten in those matches (D2).

Silva came on in the 75th minute, taking just five minutes to get his assist, and in his short cameo, he had three shots – all on target – four touches in the opposition box and two Opta-defined 'big' chances.

"It was a hard-fought victory," Kobel told Prime. "I don't know if it was a grind-it-out win.

"We played good football at times as well. But yes, it got a little tense again toward the end. It was a good game, and I think we deserved the three points.

"Fabio [Silva] is on fire. He brings great energy to the game. He was lively, ran a lot, and threatened from his first touch on the ball.

"It's fun playing with him. When he plays like this, he's very, very dangerous."

Since the 2024-25 campaign, only Harry Kane (25) and Kylian Mbappe (23) have scored more Champions League goals than Guirassy (19), who celebrated his 100th appearance for Dortmund in all competitions with a brace.

Guirassy (21) also moved into outright fifth for the most Champions League goals scored by African players, trailing only Mohamed Salah (50), Didier Drogba (44), Samuel Eto'o (30) and Sadio Mane (27).

However, he also became the first player in Champions League history to score more than once and score an own goal in the same game.

"I'm very happy with the result," Guirassy told Prime. "It was a crazy game and, once again, a very special atmosphere.

"Of course, I'm very grateful to Fabio for his great assist. We shouldn't have conceded those goals. We still need to work on that.

"But in the end, we're glad we won. That gives us confidence for the rest of the season."