Borussia Dortmund secure second Bundesliga place with comeback victory over Eintracht Frankfurt
Samuele Inacio scored his first Bundesliga goal in a 3-2 win at Signal Iduna Park, where three players played their final home matches.
Borussia Dortmund have confirmed a second-place finish in the Bundesliga following a comeback victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in their final home match of the season. The result at Signal Iduna Park ensures the club will finish ahead of RB Leipzig, securing their position in the top two despite being knocked out of both the Champions League and DFB-Pokal relatively early in the campaign.
The match served as a farewell for three players who featured in their last home games for the club in front of the Yellow Wall. Julian Brandt and goalkeeper Michael Zetterer were among those to play their final matches, while Salih Özcan and Niklas Süle also saw their last minutes at the stadium. The emotional weight of the occasion contrasted with the team's broader campaign, which marks the fifth successive year Borussia Dortmund will end their season without a trophy.
Goals from Serhou Guirassy and Samuele Inacio secured the win for the hosts, who had trailed after Can Uzun put the visitors ahead in the second minute. Guirassy scored his 80th Bundesliga strike in the first half, assisted by Julian Ryerson, while Inacio, who celebrated his 18th birthday the month prior, netted his first-ever Bundesliga goal in the 72nd minute with an assist from Maximilian Beier.
The victory comes after Niko Kovac's side lost three of their previous four games before this fixture. Dortmund dominated possession in the second half to reward their efforts, with Maximilian Schlotterbeck also scoring his first goal since renewing his contract, a move that reportedly drew mixed reactions from the fanbase due to a cheap release clause.
While the win guarantees a top-two finish, the implications for Eintracht Frankfurt remain complex. If Freiburg beat either Hamburg or RB Leipzig, Frankfurt would finish eighth, failing to qualify for the Conference League unless Freiburg win the Europa League and proceed to play in the Champions League for the first time in their history.
The result cements Dortmund's status as runners-up, though it leaves them without silverware for the fifth year in a row. Albert Riera's Eintracht Frankfurt side were denied a late equalizer, as Jonathan Burkardt's goal was not enough to force the 3-3 scoreline repeated in January.
