Borussia Dortmund clinch Champions League football on final day | OneFootball

There was plenty of twists and turns of the pendulum on the Bundesliga final day as Borussia Dortmund qualified for Champions League football. Goals from Serhou Guirassy, Marcel Sabitzer and Felix Nmecha against already relegated Holstein Kiel – who played with 10 men for 80 minutes – will see a substantial financial reward after finishing fourth.

Die Schwarzgelben started the afternoon in fifth but soon found themselves above Freiburg after taking an early lead against Kiel. Freiburg then took the lead against Eintracht Frankfurt which saw Julian Schuster’s side go above Eintracht and Dortmund inside 30 minutes.

Ansgar Knauff – formerly of Borussia Dortmund – then equalised for Eintracht Frankfurt with the final kick of the first half to put Eintracht back into third and Dortmund into fourth, with Freiburg down into fifth. Sabitzer then doubled Dortmund’s lead and Rasmus Kristensen had given Eintracht a 2-1 lead against Freiburg, which eliminated the latter to the Europa League.

Ellyes Skhiri added a third for Eintracht before Felix Nmecha scored Dortmund’s third of the afternoon, meaning that Eintracht (3rd) and Dortmund (4th) would clinch the last two Champions League positions, with Freiburg securing Europa League football next season.

After Champions League football looked a distant goal, it’s a testament to the work that Niko Kovac has done since replacing Nuri Sahin.

GGFN | Daniel Pinder