Samuele Inácio and Nico Schlotterbeck fire BVB to victory in an emotional farewell night
Borussia Dortmund secured the runners-up spot in the Bundesliga this season after coming from behind to beat Eintracht Frankfurt 3-2 on an emotionally charged night in which departing trio Julian Brandt, Niklas Süle and Salih Özcan made their final appearances at Signal Iduna Park in a Dortmund shirt.
Borussia Dortmund 3-2 Eintracht Frankfurt
Goals: 0-1 Uzun 2’ (assist: Dahoud), 1-1 Guirassy 42’ (assist: Ryerson), 2-1 Schlotterbeck 45’+1 (assist: Beier), 3-1 Inácio 72' (assist: Beier), 3-2 Burkardt 87' (assist: Knauff)
Matchday 33 at Signal Iduna Park carried a heavy emotional charge before a ball had even been kicked. Three Borussia Dortmund stalwarts — Brandt, Süle and Özcan — were given a farewell by the club's faithful in their final home match.
Brandt, who was handed the captain's armband by head coach Niko Kovač for the occasion, was making his 306th competitive appearance for the club. Süle, meanwhile, had announced his retirement earlier in the week. For Eintracht Frankfurt, the stakes were equally high: a win was needed to keep alive their hopes of European qualification, with Freiburg having leapfrogged them into seventh place.
Uzun stuns BVB with a dream start
Frankfurt wasted no time in making their intentions clear. Just two minutes in, Mahmoud Dahoud — making his first start since Matchday 23 — bundled his way through a crowd of Dortmund defenders before slipping the ball inside to Can Uzun, who curled a delightful effort inside the far post to give the visitors a shock lead.
It was the earliest goal conceded by Dortmund all season, and it left the home side scrambling to reorganise. Dortmund gradually found their footing, with Brandt pulling the strings in midfield. Marcel Sabitzer fired just wide from the edge of the box in the 15th minute after a clever lay-off from the captain, before Michael Zetterer produced a brilliant reflex save to deny Samuele Inácio's powerful header from close range in the 17th minute.
Frankfurt remained dangerous on the counter, with Ritsu Dōan going close with a low drive that clipped the near post in the 39th minute.
Guirassy and Schlotterbeck turn the tide
Dortmund's persistence was rewarded with two quickfire goals just before the interval. In the 42nd minute, Brandt won possession near the halfway line and played in Sabitzer, who found Julian Ryerson overlapping on the right.
Ryerson's low cross was met by Serhou Guirassy, who lifted a delicate flick into the far corner to level the scores. Then, deep into first-half stoppage time, Jobe Bellingham's incisive pass found Maximilian Beier, who cut it back from the left for the advancing Nico Schlotterbeck. The centre-back finished coolly inside the far post to complete a remarkable turnaround and send the Signal Iduna Park into raptures at the break.
Schlotterbeck celebrates his goal
Schlotterbeck's strike was his fifth goal of the season — a personal record — and it capped a breathtaking end to the first half. The defender wheeled away in delight in front of the away end, fist pumping towards the Dortmund faithful.
Frankfurt had led for the majority of the opening 45 minutes and had created several presentable chances on the counter, but they were punished for switching off in the closing stages.
Inácio seals it for BVB
The second half began with Dortmund firmly in control, pressing for a third goal to put the game beyond doubt. Frankfurt had a goal disallowed in the 54th minute when Farès Chaïbi was adjudged to have been offside when receiving Uzun's pass, before Dortmund's Ryerson forced a fine save from Zetterer following a corner in the 60th minute.
The decisive moment arrived in the 72nd minute: Bellingham found Beier, who cut the ball back into the box for the onrushing Inácio, who volleyed home his first-ever goal for Dortmund from close range.
The stadium erupted, and the celebrations were still ringing around the ground two minutes later when Brandt made his final exit as a Dortmund player to a thunderous ovation, replaced by Karim Adeyemi. Felix Nmecha also came on for Bellingham, marking his own long-awaited comeback.
Burkardt gives Frankfurt late hope
Frankfurt refused to give up, though. Substitute Ansgar Knauff burst down the left in the 87th minute and squeezed a ball back into the box, which deflected off Gregor Kobel and fell perfectly for Jonathan Burkardt, who tapped into an empty net to make it 3-2.
Jean-Mattéo Bahoya then came agonisingly close to an equaliser, curling a shot just past the far post in the 88th minute. Niklas Süle came on for his farewell appearance moments later, helping to see out the win.
Man of the Match: Samuele Inácio
Inácio was voted Man of the Match with 35 per cent of the vote, and it was thoroughly deserved. The young Italian attacker was a constant threat throughout the evening, having a header saved brilliantly by Zetterer in the 17th minute before finally breaking his duck for the club with a composed volley in the 72nd minute to make it 3-1.
He covered more distance than any other player on the pitch (12.3 km) and led all Dortmund players in shots on goal with two attempts.
Bundesliga Match Facts
xGoals: Dortmund 1.48 - Frankfurt 1.29
Fastest player: Ansgar Knauff (Frankfurt), 34.86 km/h
Lowest goal probability: 0-1 by Can Uzun (Frankfurt), 7 percent
Most pressed player: Can Uzun (Frankfurt), 20 times under pressure
Pass efficiency: Marcel Sabitzer (Dortmund), +3.11
Fantasy Heroes: Nico Schlotterbeck (Borussia Dortmund, 275 Points), Maximilian Beier (Borussia Dortmund, 216 Points), Julian Ryerson (Borussia Dortmund, 194 Points)
