Borussia Dortmund eased to a comfortable 3-0 victory over 10-man Holstein Kiel, clinching a fifth consecutive Bundesliga win that helped claim a UEFA Champions League qualification spot on the final day of the season.
Despite dropping just two points in their previous seven games, Dortmund knew they still had work to do if they were to snatch a top-four spot on the final day of the season.
With so much at stake, the hosts could not have wished for a better start to proceedings, as Serhou Guirassy drove home a third-minute spot-kick after Lewis Holtby had been penalised for a clumsy challenge on Felix Nmecha.
Matters soon got worse for Dortmund’s relegated opponents when Carl Johansson was given his marching orders in the ninth minute for chopping down Karim Adeyemi as the last defender outside the box.
To Kiel’s credit, they did their utmost to keep the deficit to one before the break, and they even threatened to grab a surprise equaliser when Shuto Machino forced Gregor Kobel into a smart stop in the closing stages of the half.
However, Dortmund ultimately took heed of that warning sign as they made a fast start to double their advantage within two minutes of the restart.
Marcel Sabitzer collected the ball on the edge of the box, before drilling it past Thomas Dahne with the aid of a slight deflection to score his first Bundesliga goal since April 2024.
After rediscovering his shooting boots, Sabitzer threatened to add a third when he fired a low shot towards the bottom corner, only to see his goalbound effort pushed away by Dahne.
Unfortunately for the Kiel shot-stopper, it only proved to be a matter of time until Dortmund added to their tally through Nmecha, who calmly steered a right-foot shot into the far bottom corner to make sure of all three points.
As a result of the dominant win, Niko Kovac’s side leapfrog Freiburg into four spot to guarantee Champions League football for next season, while Kiel’s debut Bundesliga season ends in a disappointing 17th-place finish.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Felix Nmecha (Borussia Dortmund)
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