Felix Nmecha scored twice and Fabio Silva grabbed another as Borussia Dortmund won 3-0 at home to promoted Paderborn to continue their perfect start in the Bundesliga on Saturday.

Dortmund’s win made it three from three in the league this campaign, their best start in 11 seasons dating back to Thomas Tuchel’s time in the dugout.

Starting up front alongside strike partner Serhou Guirassy for the first time this season, Silva raced on to a clever ball through from the Guinean to give the hosts the lead after five minutes.

Guirassy had two goals disallowed for offside in the first half alone, but Dortmund were rarely troubled by the toothless visitors, who are yet to score since returning to the top flight this season.

Substitute Nmecha came off the bench to score a brace, wrapping up victory for the hosts with a stunning late bicycle kick.

Dortmund captain Nico Schlotterbeck made a surprise return for his first match since picking up an ankle injury at the World Cup, admitting he had kept his comeback under wraps.

“We just hadn’t communicated that much yet because I didn’t want to,” Schlotterbeck told Sky Germany. “I missed it terribly. It was a serious injury, but I’m glad to be back now.”

Dortmund coach Niko Kovac also revealed that winger Konstantinos Karetsas, who was stretchered off the pitch with a cardiovascular issue in Tuesday’s Champions League win over Villarreal, was back in training.

“Fortunately, nothing unusual was found. If things keep going well, he could be back against Stuttgart (next Saturday),” Kovac told reporters.

Freiburg first

Elsewhere, Europa League finalists Freiburg thumped a poor Borussia Moenchengladbach 5-0 at home to climb to the top of the Bundesliga standings.

Yannik Engelhardt and Igor Matanovic netted twice each and Maximilian Eggestein added a late fifth as the hosts sent Gladbach, who finished with 10 men, to the foot of the table.

In Saturday’s late game, West Ham United loanee Niclas Fullkrug kept his excellent run of form since returning to the Bundesliga going, scoring the equaliser for Werder Bremen in a 1-1 draw at Cologne.

Thijs Dallinga missed a penalty after eight minutes, but team-mate Linton Maina put Cologne ahead moments later.

Fullkrug’s goal came in the 69th minute and is his third in four games since returning to Germany. The Germany striker only netted three times in 29 matches for West Ham and scored just once in 20 games on loan at AC Milan last season.

Meanwhile, a 2-2 home draw with Bayer Leverkusen ended Augsburg’s short stint at the top.

Augsburg were top after the last matchday for the first time in their history but were held by Leverkusen despite a double from Michael Gregoritsch.

Elsewhere, Eintracht Frankfurt registered their first win of the campaign with a 3-1 victory away at neighbours Mainz, with Can Uzun bagging a brace either side of a Jonathan Burkardt goal.

Frankfurt goalkeeper Noah Atubolu kept his remarkable penalty-saving record alive when he stopped a first-half effort from Germany midfielder Nadiem Amiri.

Atubolu’s save was his sixth in a row, extending his own Bundesliga record.

Hoffenheim won 2-1 at home against VfB Stuttgart thanks to a brace from Adam Hlozek.

On Sunday, Bayern Munich travel to promoted Elversberg while RB Leipzig host Hamburg.