Hamburg SV marked their return to the Bundesliga after a seven-year absence with a goalless draw against Borussia Mönchengladbach on Sunday. The match, which took place at Borussia-Park in Mönchengladbach, saw the promoted side spend a significant amount of time defending.

Goalkeeper Daniel Heuer Fernandes played a crucial role in securing the draw for Hamburg, making several important saves, including a notable denial of Gladbach captain Rocco Reitz. In the later stages of the game, Hamburg substitutes Jean-Luc Dompé and Yussuf Poulsen added an attacking impetus to their team. Another substitute, William Mikelbrencis, had a late goal disallowed for offside.

Hamburg, nicknamed "der Dino," had been a constant presence in the Bundesliga since its inception in 1963 until their relegation in 2018. The club will now face city rivals St. Pauli in a home derby next Friday.

Merlin Polzin, HSV's head coach, had stated following the team's promotion celebrations that the Bundesliga would encounter "a different HSV" than before, characterized by ambition, humility, respect, and courage. He also noted changes in the league since their relegation, with different teams occupying top positions compared to the 2017/18 season.

Gladbach had recently signed Gio Reyna from Borussia Dortmund, but he was not included in the squad for this match.

In another match, Cologne celebrated their return as second-division champions with a 1-0 victory at Mainz. Paul Nebel of Mainz was sent off for a foul on Jakub Kaminski, which led to Marius Bülter scoring the winning goal for Cologne.

Hamburg's first home game will be a highly anticipated Hamburg derby against FC St. Pauli. Other key fixtures for Hamburg include a match against Werder Bremen in early December and a trip to face Bayern Munich.