Borussia Dortmund cruised past relegated Holstein Kiel 3-0 to finish fourth and snatch the last Champions League spot for next season, in the best comeback of the last seven matchdays in Bundesliga history.
Dortmund, coached by Niko Kovac, won six of their last seven games to move up to fourth place in the standings. They finished with 57 points, two ahead of Freiburg, who lost 3-1 at home to Eintracht Frankfurt, who were in third place, and will now play in the Europa League.
Dortmund, needing a three-goal win to be guaranteed a top-four finish irrespective of results in the other games, got off to a dream start when Serhou Guirassy converted a third-minute penalty for the lead.
When Carl Johansson was shown a straight red card, Kiel was left with ten players, but the hosts were unable to use the extra man until the break.
They did, however, score two minutes after the restart, with Marcel Sabitzer slotting in from the edge of the box to make it 2-0 and Felix Nmecha added another in the 72nd minute to seal their European spot.
Dortmund players will now go into a two-week break before returning in early June ahead of the Club World Cup in the United States. “For a long time we were just passengers, and on the final matchday we were in the driving seat and did it just in time,” said Niko Kovac, who took over in February with the team in 11th place after Nuri Sahin left following a disappointing first half of the season. I did my job but I want to underline that you cannot achieve anything in football alone.”
RB Leipzig, meanwhile, missed out on European football completely after finishing seventh. They lost 3-2 at home to German Cup finalists Stuttgart, while Mainz drew 2-2 at home to Bayer Leverkusen to finish sixth by a point and reach the Conference League. Bayern Munich, who had secured the title two weeks ago, beat Hoffenheim 4-0.
After falling to Werder Bremen 4-1 at home, Heidenheim finished 16th and entered a playoff for promotion or relegation.