Borussia Dortmund make spectacular escape to win Champions League ticket

Having been 11th just seven weeks ago, Dortmund have taken 22 points from a possible 24 from their final eight games to move up to fourth in the table. They have leap frogged Freiburg who lost 3-1 at home to Eintracht Frankfurt. Dortmund have not finished in the top four since the third round in September.

In their final game against a relegated opponent, Dortmund got off to a flying start when Serhou Guirassy scored from the penalty spot in the third minute, Just six minutes later, Kiel’s Carl Johansson was sent off for a final foul – which put Dortmund in control of the game.

Marcel Sabitzer scored the second early in the second half with a deflected shot in the 73rd minute, Felix Nmecha scored the third from close range to give Dortmund a big win and a place in next season’s Champions League.

“We are happy to have achieved the minimum target but we should not celebrate too much. The important thing is to keep up the good work,” said coach Niko Kovac who has been in charge of Dortmund since January.

Captain Emre Can was more upbeat: “We have had some great nights in the Champions League and we want to relive that feeling.”

Also in the Champions League next season are Frankfurt, who came from behind to beat Freiburg. This is the first time Frankfurt have qualified for the Champions League through their Bundesliga ranking.

Freiburg needed a win to stay in fourth place, and took the lead in the 27th minute through Ritsu Doan. But Ansgar Knauff equalised for Frankfurt just before half-time. Rasmus Kristensen and Ellyes Skhiri then scored twice in quick succession in the second half to give Frankfurt the win.

Freiburg dropped to fifth and will play in the Europa League. They will be joined by the winner of the DFB-Pokal final between Stuttgart and Arminia Bielefeld (third place).

Elsewhere, Bayern Munich ended their impressive season with a 4-0 win over Hoffenheim, this was Thomas Muller’s farewell match. Harry Kane scored his 26th goal of the season, winning the Bundesliga’s top scorer award for the second consecutive time, the remaining goals were scored by Michael Olise, Joshua Kimmich and Serge Gnabry.

Kane shared: “I have won many Golden Boots but winning when the team wins the championship means a lot more.”

Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw by Mainz in Xabi Alonso’s final game, Leverkusen fell behind through Paul Nebel, but Patrick Schick scored twice early in the second half. Mainz equalised from the penalty spot through Jonathan Burkardt. Steffan Bell’s stoppage-time goal was ruled out for handball. Mainz retained sixth place and will play in the Europa Conference League.

Despite not winning, Leverkusen still set a new record: 34 consecutive away games unbeaten in the Bundesliga. Coach Alonso who is expected to take over Real Madrid next summer shared: “I have learned a lot in the past three years and I will remember this time.”

RB Leipzig endured a disappointing season losing 2-3 at home to Stuttgart and failing to qualify for Europe for the first time since promotion in 2016.

Heidenheim will face a relegation play off after losing 4-1 at home to Werder Bremen. Elsewhere, Union Berlin came from behind to win 2-1 at Augsburg thanks to a brace from Andrej Ilic, Already-relegated Bochum ended their Bundesliga campaign with a 2-0 win over St Pauli. Wolfsburg won 1-0 at Moenchengladbach.