Borussia Dortmund defeated relegation-threatened Greuther Furth 3-1 away from home to secure the second spot in Bundesliga with a match remaining this season.
Marco Rose’s side had already lost any hopes of clinching the Bundesliga title with a defeat against Bayern Munich last month. They also suffered a disastrous 4-3 loss against newly-promoted side VfL Bochum last weekend.
Going into this clash against relegation-threatened Greuther Furth, there were a few nervy moments and reasons to worry for the supporters of the Black and Yellow side. Dortmund also suffered odd scares against Furth when Timothy Tillman sent an ambitious volley wide of the goal, while Branimir Hrgota also had a goal ruled out for an offside in the build-up against Simon Asta, which was confirmed following a VAR review.
However, German international Julian Brandt settled the nerves when he found the back of the net from close range after keeper Andreas Linde could only parry Raphael Guerreiro’s low shot. Greuther also returned fire after falling back through former BVB midfielder Tobias Raschl, but goalkeeper Marwin Hitz was able to punch clear.
Dortmund then put their foot on the accelerator after emerging out of the half-time break. After Erling Haaland and Marco Reus missed opportunities to stretch their lead, Hrgota slipped in Jessic Ngankam for a fabulous dinked equaliser over Hitz.
Nerves were settled when Brandt found the net for the second time in the 72nd minute to take his tally to a personal best nine goals in the league.
Dortmund then put Greuther Furth out of their misery with substitute Felix Passlack’s deflected goal just five minutes later. This win takes Borussia to 66 points, and they have a five-point lead over Bayer Leverkusen in third place.
Leverkusen, meanwhile, had to struggle for their three points against Hoffenheim away from home. The hosts took the lead through Georginio Rutter before Patrik Schick scored the equaliser. Hoffenheim went ahead once again through Christoph Baumgartner and took a 2-1 lead into the break.
Leverkusen emerged out on the other side, motivated, and started turning the screws in the final quarter of the match. Schick made it a brace after Moussa Diaby restored parity in the contest for the second time in 73rd minute. Lucas Alario then put the result beyond doubt with a goal in stoppage time.
