Borussia Dortmund secure return to Champions League with emphatic win over Freiburg
Borussia Dortmund's impressive 4-0 home win over Freiburg booked the club a spot in next season's UEFA Champions League with three Bundesliga matches to spare, putting smiles on the faces of everyone present at Signal Iduna Park, including head coach Nico Kovač.
The Black & Yellows' 600th home win in their 1,000 Bundesliga home match proved a fitting occasion to confirm their participation in the 2026/27 Champions League, and the manner in which they comfortably disposed of the Breisgau club - Maximilian Beier, Serhou Guirassy and Ramy Bensebaini had them 3-0 up after just 32 minutes, before Fabio Silva added a fourth late on - only added to the general feeling of satisfaction at a job well done.
"We deserved to win the match – our 1,000th Bundesliga home game," said a delighted Kovač in his post-match press conference.
"It’s a lovely anniversary with a really great result, and a really great first half. And then everything fell into place: we kept a clean sheet, scored four goals again, and we brought on two young players who got a taste of Bundesliga action. All in all, we’re all very satisfied.”
Watch: Dortmund 4-0 Freiburg - highlights
Speaking to DAZN, Beier, whose composed eighth-minute finish began the rout, was in an equally celebratory mood: "Lovely weather, a brilliant stadium, we’re winning – what more could you want? It’s been a tough couple of weeks. That makes it all the sweeter that we managed to win, and by four goals. That’s good for the team and good for the fans. It was a great day today. We secured Champions League qualification in our 1,000th home game, and that’s obviously brilliant and very important for next season.”
"We could perhaps have put in a bit more effort, but the way we played, especially in the first half, convinced me and made me happy," added Kovač. "That was a very good response to what hasn’t gone well over the last couple of weeks."
Sporting director Ole Book, speaking in the mixed zone, was also full of compliments for the team's display: “We started with great intensity, pressed well, went at them courageously and, above all, showed some fine footballing quality, so we fully deserved to be in the lead.
"We might have been able to kill the game off even earlier, but it was quite simply a good performance. The lads really played with great determination and did a good job today.”
A disjointed-looking and visibly tired Freiburg side were unable to handle Dortmund's waves of attacks in the first half, a point Marcel Sabitzer took pains to emphasise.
“Freiburg had a tough game on Thursday," he noted. "We know from our own experience that you have to get into the game in the first 10 to 20 minutes. We took advantage of that.
"We played very well in the first 30 minutes, scored three goals straight away and, in the end, won by a comfortable margin that was fully deserved. We moved the ball around well and scored some great goals. Our energy and sharpness were spot on."
On a day where one of his principal pre-season targets - Champions League qualification - was ticked off the list, the opportunity to hand Samuele Inácio his first Bundesliga start and bring on 16-year-old Mathis Albert in the closing stages was another source of satisfaction for Kovač.
Focusing on the young Italian starlet, he said, "The lad had a great debut today and did really well right from the start. He’s so technically gifted. We’re going to enjoy watching him and he’s a massive talent.”
In terms of the immediate future, with three Bundesliga fixtures still to fulfil, the last word goes to a determined Sabitzer: "Our aim is to finish at worst second in the league. That’s the mission.”
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