Bundesliga final day drama: Dortmund, Frankfurt reach Champions League; Leipzig miss out on Europe

Yahoo

15 hours ago

The final day of the 2024-25 Bundesliga season was a wild ride as the race for Champions League qualification ebbed and flowed, minnows qualified for Europe and there were twists and turns galore.
Of course, Bayern Munich were already confirmed as champions and 2023-24 champs Bayer Leverkusen finished in second.
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But below them Eintracht Frankfurt, Borussia Dortmund and SC Freiburg were involved in an incredible scrap for two Champions League spots, while there was also an intense finale for the Europa League and Conference League spots.
Borussia Dortmund win to reach the Champions League
Dortmund beat already-relegated Holstein Kiel 3-0 (goals from Serhou Guirassy, Marcel Sabitzer and Felix Nemecha did the damage) to reach the Champions League as Nico Kovac's side finished the season eight games unbeaten and won seven of those to finish in fourth.
For most of the season Dortmund were well out of the top four but they rallied impressively to qualify for the Champions League and finished the job on the final day. That is a fine achievement from Kovac.
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Dortmund have serious momentum heading into the summer where they will play in the Club World Cup and then look to challenge Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen for the title next season.
Freiburg, Frankfurt go-all out as Eagles win epic scrap for Champions League
Things were looking so good early on for Freiburg as they took the lead against Eintracht Frankfurt and their fans were dreaming of qualifying for the Champions League for the first time in their history.
But Frankfurt had to win to guarantee their spot in the Champions League for next season and the Eagles soared back with a big goal right on half time from Ansgar Knauff making it 1-1, then Rasmus Kristensen and Ellyes Skhiri scored within two minutes in the second half to turn the game on its head as they won 3-1.
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Frankfurt ended up finishing third in the table, their highest Bundesliga finish since 1993. Freiburg were downbeat but finished in fifth as they had to settle for Europa League qualification.
RB Leipzig miss out on Europe as Mainz rise to the occasion
One of the biggest surprises was RB Leipzig losing 3-2 at home to Stuttgart as they missed out on Europe for the first time since becoming a top-flight club in 2016-17. Leipzig took the lead twice but Stuttgart roared back in the second half and even though Leipzig's home stadium will host the UEFA Conference League final next season, RB Leipzig will not be in it.
Mainz qualified for the Conference League as they drew 2-2 at home against Bayer Leverkusen and they were excellent as they had multiple goals ruled out by VAR. Xabi Alonso avoided defeat, somehow, in his final game in charge of Leverkusen as the Mainz fans celebrated wildly at the final whistle.
This is the just the fifth time Mainz have qualified for Europe in their history and the first time since the 2016-17 season, as the club which helped Jurgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel make their names will fancy their chances of going far in the Conference League.