PICTURES: Bundesliga returns to action after COVID-19 lockdown

Germany's Bundesliga football season resumed on Saturday after a two-month break caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Borussia Dortmund defeated Schalke 4-0 in the first Ruhr derby to be played in an empty stadium.

All the games began amid strict hygiene measures. Calls and shouts from coaching staff and players, and the thud of the ball being kicked, reverberated around the mainly deserted stands.

Erling Haaland scored the league's first goal since the enforced break. The 19-year-old celebrated with a restrained dance while his teammates stayed well away.

Players had been warned to keep their emotions in check, and to desist from spitting, handshakes and hugging.

Julian Brandt set up Raphael Guerreiro for the second goal before the break and Thorgan Hazard for the third after it. Hazard celebrated alone in front of Dortmund's south terrace, where normally the club's "Yellow Wall'' of almost 25,000 fervent fans would be standing.

Guerreiro scored the fourth against a poor Schalke as Dortmund cut the gap on leaders Bayern Munich to a point. Bayern are due to play at Union Berlin on Sunday.

The strict measures included disinfecting all the balls used during the matches.

RB Liepzig were held 1-1 by Freiburg, and had a lucky escape as a late Freiburg goal was ruled out for offside.

Fortuna Dusseldorf coach Uwe Roesler was only permitted to remove his mask to shout instructions to his players.

Freiburg players had to come up with alternative congratulatory gestures as handshakes and high-fives were a no-no.