Beyond the echoing shouts of coaches, it was deathly quiet at the Signal Iduna Park, normally a noisy, atmospheric stadium on Saturday.
The hosts won, Borussia Dortmund crushing Schalke 04 4-0 as football resumed in Germany, with the Bundesliga becoming the first major league in Europe to resume after a two month break.
Of course it was Erling Haaland who broke the deadlock, finishing coolly from Thorgan Hazard’s whipped low cross.
Raphael Guerrero struck twice and Hazard netted the fourth in a thrashing, helping Dortmund nearly catch up with Bayern Munich. The German giants are top by a point now, and play on Sunday.
Substitutes sat two metres apart because of social distancing, while wearing masks, along with the staff. Ball boys disinfected the balls as teams entered the pitch by different routes to avoid any potential contagion.