Erling Haaland and Marco Reus secure third for Borussia Dortmund against Bayer Leverkusen
Erling Haaland scored his 39th and 40th Bundesliga goals - while Lars Bender scored a late penalty in his final game - as Borussia Dortmund secured third place against Bayer Leverkusen on the final day.
Borussia Dortmund 3-1 Bayer Leverkusen
Goals: 1-0 Haaland (5'), 2-0 Reus (51'), 3-0 Haaland (84'), 3-1 L. Bender (89')
While farewells were bid to Lukasz Piszczek and Bender twins Lars and Sven - with Piszczek and Sven captaining their respective sides - both sides were looking to end difficult seasons on a high on the final day. Haaland was looking for his 40th goal of the season in all competitions, and got it just five minutes in. Reinier slid the striker in on goal down the left and he smashed the ball home through Lukas Hradecky's legs. From that moment on, however, it was Leverkusen in control. Half chances went begging before Roman Bürki was tested for the first time after 36 minutes, with Karim Bellarabi finding Paulinho in front of goal, only for Dortmund’s No.1 to deny the Brazilian forward a goal on his first appearance of the campaign. Marco Reus had a rare chance moments before the break, with Kerem Demirbay the hero with a sliding block in front of Hradecky.
Six minutes into the second half and Dortmund doubled their lead when Reus's free-kick bounced through and in beyond Hradecky and those waiting in the area. Piszczek went close to scoring on his big day, but his header from Julian Brandt’s cross drifted just wide of goal. Leverkusen continued to push for a goal on the counter-attack, but with Jadon Sancho and Mats Hummels coming on midway through the second half, the home side looked more and more comfortable as the game went on. Piszczek's special moment came with 15 minutes to play as he came off to a guard of honour from his teammates. Haaland notched his 40the Bundesliga goal in the final 10 minutes after latching onto Wendell's attempted pass across defence. Lars Bender came on in the final moments and minutes later slotted home a rare penalty to end his career with a consolation goal.
Match stats
- Haaland averaged goal every 88 minutes in this season's Bundesliga, scoring 27 times in 28 games.
- He is the first U21 player to reach 40 career Bundesliga goals. Only Uwe Seeler needed fewer than the Norwegian's 43 games to reach the 40-goal mark (42).
- Dortmund have scored at least one goal in 32 Bundesliga games in a row, matching the club record (1995 and 1996 under Ottmar Hitzfeld).
- Terzic's BVB made it seven Bundesliga wins in a row. Jürgen Klopp was the last coach to mastermind six or more successive single-season Bundesliga victories, during the club's 2011/12 title-winning campaign.
- Sven Bender played for Dortmund between 2009 and 2017, twice winning each of the Bundesliga, DFB Cup and German Supercup.
- Leverkusen have only won in Dortmund twice since 2010, losing their last six on the spin at the Signal Iduna Park.
Line-ups
Dortmund: Bürki - Piszczek (c) (Passlack 75'), Akanji (Hummels 63'), Can, Schulz - Dahoud (Bellingham 46'), Delaney - Brandt, Reus (Sancho 63'), Reinier (Reyna 79') - Haaland
Unused subs: Drljaca, Guerreiro, Hazard, Meunier
Out: Hitz (knee), Morey (knee), Moukoko (shin), Schmelzer (knee), Witsel (Achilles' tendon), Zagadou (knee)
Coach: Edin Terzic
Leverkusen: Hradecky - Tah, Dragovic, S. Bender, Wendell - Wirtz (Schick 66'), Aranguiz (c), Demirbay - Bellarabi (Diaby 73') Paulinho (Gedikli 66'), Gray
Unused subs: Grill, Lomb, L. Bender, Baumgartlinger, Weiser, Frimpong
Out: Alario (thigh), Amiri (suspended), Arias (ankle), Bailey (foot), L. Bender (knee), Fosu-Mensah (knee), Palacios (groin), Sinkgraven (knee), Tapsoba (suspended)
Coach: Hannes Wolf
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