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. Niko Kovac’s Dortmund won six of their last seven matches to climb from 10th to fourth in the standings and finish on 57 points, two ahead of Freiburg, who lost 3-1 at home to third-placed Eintracht Frankfurt and drop into 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. Kiel were then left with 10 players when Carl Johansson was sent off with a straight red card but the hosts could not make the extra man count 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. Niko Kovac, who had taken over in February with the team in 11th place after the departure of Nuri Sahin after a disappointing first half to the season, said: “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 the Croat. 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. Heidenheim finished in 16th after losing 4-1 at home to Werder Bremen to go into a relegation/promotion playoff.
Leverkusen, last season’s champions, came from 1-0 down at Mainz but led 2-1 as they handed Xabi Alonso another record as they went two league seasons without an away defeat. Alonso is leaving after two and a half years in charge – including a sensational domestic league and Cup double last season without one defeat – with reports linking him to a move to Real Madrid.
Mainz went in front through Paul Nebel in the 35th minute but Leverkusen struck twice in five minutes through Patrik Schick in the 49th and 54th to get back into the driving seat. Mainz levelled with a penalty from Jonathan Burkardt in the 63rd minute.
They almost spoiled the Leverkusen record when Stefan Bell stabbed in for what looked like the winner in stoppage time but his effort was overruled for handball after a lengthy video review.
Harry Kane came off the bench to score the last goal in Bayern’s 4-0 win. It was the England captain’s 26th of the season as he became the first player to top the Bundesliga scoring charts in each of his first two campaigns.
“I always try to improve,” Kane said after being handed the top scorer trophy. “But without teammates this would not be possible. I am enjoying this.”
Sporting were crowned Portugal champions after beating Vitória Guimarães 2-0 in the Primeira Liga as both the title race and the relegations were decided on the final matchday.
Pedro Gonçalves put the defending champions in front after 55 minutes before Viktor Gyökeres doubled the advantage late on, sealing the points with a low strike inside the bottom right corner. Sporting finished top of the standings on 82 points, two points above their local rivals Benfica, who were held to a 1-1 draw at 10-man Braga in a simultaneous kickoff.
Sporting and Benfica played out a 1-1 draw last weekend to stay level on points but Sporting’s 1-0 win in the reverse fixture in December meant they held a head-to-head advantage, and needed only to match Benfica’s result on final day. Sporting, who became champions for the 21st time, won first consecutive league titles since they claimed four in a row from 1951-54.
Boavista and Farense were relegated from the top flight while 16th-placed AVS will face Vizela, who finished third in the second tier, in the playoffs.
The Paris Saint-Germain winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored twice in the second half as the Ligue 1 champions came from behind to beat Auxerre 3-1 and end their season on a winning note after falling behind to a Lassine Sinayoko strike.
At the other end of the table, Saint-Étienne were beaten 3-2 at home by Toulouse and will join the already-relegated Montpellier in Ligue 2 next season after finishing second from bottom. A late penalty lifted Le Havre to a 3-2 win over Strasbourg and 15th place, leaving Reims to finish 16th and a promotion/relegation playoff against Metz.
PSG finished on 84 points, 19 ahead of the runners-up Marseille and 23 ahead of third-placed Monaco, who both qualify directly for the Champions League group stage, while Nice thumped Brest 4-0 to finish fourth and enter that competition in the third qualifying round.
Unbeaten when they secured the title in early April, PSG were on course for their third defeat in their six subsequent games when Sinayoko gave Auxerre the lead. But Kvaratskhelia bundled the ball over the line for the equaliser in the 59th minute, with Marquinhos adding a header before the Georgian scored again late on to wrap up the three points.
