Dortmund storm past Leverkusen 4-2 to keep alive Champions League chance

Borussia Dortmund powered back from a goal down to crush hosts Bayer Leverkusen 4-2 in the Bundesliga on Sunday, keeping alive their chance of a top-four finish going into the final matchday next week.

Dortmund have now won six of their last seven league games to climb up from 11th to fifth and are just a point behind fourth-placed Freiburg.

The Ruhr valley club, last year’s Champions League finalists, have 54 points going into next week’s season finale, with the top four teams earning automatic qualification for next season’s Champions League.

Yet they found themselves a goal down in the 31st minute with Leverkusen’s Jeremie Frimpong giving the hosts a deserved lead in coach Xabi Alonso’s final home match.

The Spaniard announced on Friday that he will leave at the end of the season, having joined in October 2022 and led them to the domestic double last season without defeat while also reaching the Europa League final.

A half-dozen saves by Dortmund keeper Gregor Kobel kept them in the game in the first half but after Leverkusen’s goal the visitors never looked back.

Dortmund levelled two minutes later with Julian Brandt slotting in from a Karim Adeyemi cutback.

The visitors scored again in the 43rd after winning possession in Leverkusen’s half and Julian Ryerson completing the move with a low finish from the right.

Leverkusen’s lethargic play saw them lose possession once more in the 73rd with Marcel Sabitzer feeding lightning-quick Adeyemi to make it 3-1.

Before the hosts had time to regroup they conceded another goal through Serhou Guirassy, who bagged his 20th league goal of the season in the 77th. Jonas Hofmann manage to score in stoppage time for Leverkusen.

Dortmund host relegated Holstein Kiel next week.

Bayern Munich on Saturday celebrated the league title they had secured a week earlier, beating Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0.