Dortmund clinch 2nd; Wolfsburg, Hoffenheim bound for Europa League

Berlin, Jun 20 (efe-epa).- Borussia Dortmund nailed down second place in the Bundesliga with a 2-0 away win Saturday over third-ranked RB Leipzig, while Wolfsburg and Hoffenheim assured themselves of Europa League play in 2020-2021 with victories against Schalke and Union Berlin, respectively.

Erling Haaland provided both goals for Dortmund in the match at Leipzig’s Red Bull Arena. The Norwegian teen put the visitors ahead in the 30th minute before completing the brace in second-half stoppage time.

Dortmund lead Leipzig by 6 points with just one game left.

Bayern Munich, who beat Werder Bremen four days ago to claim their record eighth consecutive Bundesliga title, were comfortable 3-1 winners Saturday over visiting SC Freiburg.

Joshua Kimmich put the hosts on the board in the 16th minute and Robert Lewandowski made it 2-0 in the 24th minute. Lucas Höler clawed back a goal for Freiburg in the 33rd, but the Poland international restored the two-goal margin three minutes later.

The double pushed Lewandowski’s season total in the Bundesliga to 33.

While Bayern, Dortmund and Leipzig have all booked their spots in the 2020-2021 Champions League, the battle for the final spot won’t be resolved until the final Match Day next week.

Borussia Mönchengladbach beat relegated Paderborn 3-1 on Saturday to took possession of fourth place with 62 points, 2 more than Bayer Leverkusen, defeated 2-0 by Hertha Berlin.

Thanks to a better goal difference, Gladbach need only a draw against Hertha next Saturday to secure their ticket to the Champions League.

And though Leverkusen could finish tied on points with Leipzig, the Red Bulls have an even larger edge on goal difference.

The likeliest outcome for Leverkusen is a fifth-place finish that sends them to the Europa League. The sixth slot also guarantees Europa League play, while the squad that ends the season in seventh go to a pre-tournament qualifying round.

Wout Weghorst scored twice for Wolfsburg in a 4-1 pounding of stumbling Schalke. Hoffenheim got goals from four different players to thrash Union.

Wolfsburg and Hoffenheim are level on points at 49, with Wolfsburg in 6th on goal difference. Freiburg are 4 points behind.

Further down the table, Eintracht Frankurt moved up to ninth place on a 1-1 draw with 14th-place Köln, who are safe from relegation.

Mainz and Augsburg can likewise count on spending another season in the top flight. Mainz downed Werder Bremen 3-1 to go 13th and Augsburg drew 1-1 with Fortuna Düsseldorf to assure that they’ll finish no lower than 15th.

With Paderborn already relegated, Bremen sit in 17th with 28 points and must win their final game against Union Berlin to have any chance of overtaking Düsseldorf.

Relegation works differently in the Bundesliga than in Europe’s other elite leagues. The teams in 17th and 18th are demoted automatically to the second division, but the 16th-place club gets a chance to stay up via a playoff. EFE rz/dr