Shinji Kagawa scores as Borussia Dortmund beat Freiburg

Juergen Schwarz/Bongarts/Getty Images

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The Japan international, who went the entire 2013-14 campaign without scoring for Manchester United, needed just 40 minutes of his first game back in yellow and black to score his first goal on his return to the Bundesliga.

Seven minutes earlier, he had played a hand in Adrian Ramos putting Dortmund in front while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang added a third.

Oliver Sorg grabbed a consolation at the death for Freiburg, who remain without a win this season.

Kagawa was named in Dortmund's starting XI, 854 days after his last appearance for the club, prior to his 2012 move to Manchester United.

He settled into his new and old Westfalenstadion home immediately, making it seem like he had never been away as he sat just behind the lone striker Ramos.

After just over half an hour, he showed how he had not forgotten any of the mechanisms as he sent a low ball into the path of Kevin Grosskreutz, who needed only one touch to place the ball on a plate for Ramos to lift into the roof of the net at the near post.

It was the same trio who combined for Dortmund's second, and Kagawa's first back at the club.

Grosskreutz this time sent Ramos clear down the right and his ball across the face of goal was missed by Henrikh Mkhitaryan, but inviting for Kagawa to place first time into the bottom left-hand corner.

The Japan midfielder was given a standing ovation when he left the field in the 64th minute, to be replaced by Italy's Ciro Immobile.

He was not able to make an immediate impact on the game, but he did send fellow substitute Aubameyange clear less than two minutes after the Gabon international came on, and he showed his blistering pace to leave the Freiburg defenders in his wake before lifting the ball over the advancing Roman Burki.

Freiburg grabbed a consolation just as the game was drawing to a close with Sorg drilling his shot into the far corner, beyond the reach of Roman Weidenfeller.