Dortmund make light work of 10-man Kiel to secure Champions League spot | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund knew their fate lay in their hands prior to a ball was kicked at an atmospheric Westfalenstadion this afternoon. A sizeable victory over Holstein Kiel would ensure Champions League football for next season. In the end, Niko Kovač's side romped to a 3-0 win and secured their berth in the top four once again.

The game appeared to take the the form of the perfect storyline from a Dortmund point of view. Serhou Guirassy's cross fell to Felix Nmecha inside 120 seconds as Lewis Holtby tangled legs with the German midfielder. Harm Osmers pointed to the spot in an instant with no VAR consultation needed.

The resulting spot kick was tucked home by Guirassy who carefully placed his effort inside the left post beyond the reach of Thomas Dähne. Things went from bad to worse for Kiel as the ball broke lose minutes later. Karim Adeyemi picked up possession with a clear route to goal before Carl Johansson cynically hauled him down for a straight red card.

Die Schwarzgelben bossed possession with the numerical advantage but couldn't take full advantage on the goal-scoring front. Dähne made a sharp save to deny Marcel Sabitzer before the half-hour. The numerically disadvantaged Kiel almost equalised through Shuto Machino before the break - Kobel parried the shot away to safety.

Niko Kovač's side managed to emulate their fast start with a second goal inside 2 minutes after the break. Kiel's sloppy use of possession coughed up the ball for Julian Brandt to pick out Marcel Sabitzer. The Austrian was slightly fortunate to see his effort deflect off a Kiel leg and beyond the hapless Dähne.

BVB had other chances to capitalise - namely chances for Guirassy and Nmecha. However, coincided with other results in Breisgau; Borussia Dortmund was destined for the Champions League fot another season. Daniel Svensson's pass in the 73rd-minute made sure of the victory as he picked out Felix Nmecha who had ample time to pick his spot past Dähne.

With the points well and truly secured, Niko Kovač emptied the bench as Emte Can, Gio Reyna, Jamie Gittens and Julien Duranville were afforded a run late on.

Despite having being consigned to relegation, credit must ho to Nicolai Rapp's side whose eight thousand fans roared them on one last time. But it was Dortmund's day in the end as they secured their place in Europe's premier competition for another campaign.