Borussia Dortmund secured the final Champions League qualification spot in the Bundesliga on Saturday, May 17, 2025, with a decisive 3-0 home victory over already-relegated Holstein Kiel.
The win capped a remarkable late-season resurgence for Dortmund, who climbed from 10th to fourth place in the standings by winning six of their last seven matches.
Under the guidance of Niko Kovac, who took charge in February when the team was in 11th position following Nuri Sahin’s departure, Dortmund finished the season on 57 points. Their qualification was confirmed as fifth-placed Freiburg lost 3-1 at home to third-placed Eintracht Frankfurt, leaving Freiburg two points behind Dortmund. This comeback in the final seven matchdays is reportedly unprecedented in Bundesliga history.
“We are all happy but there is no reason to celebrate,” Kovac stated at a post-match press conference. “I am happy and we are all happy to have pushed this through, to have taken that last step which is sometime difficult to take. For a long time we were just passengers and on the final matchday we were in the driving seat and did it just in time. I did my job but I want to underline that you cannot achieve anything in football alone.”
Missing out on the Champions League would have represented a significant sporting and financial setback for the publicly-traded club.
Dortmund started strongly against Holstein Kiel, needing a convincing win to guarantee their top-four finish regardless of other results. Serhou Guirassy converted a penalty in the third minute to give them an early lead. This goal marked Guirassy’s 21st of his debut season for Dortmund, a new club record.
The visitors were reduced to 10 men shortly thereafter when Carl Johansson received a straight red card. Despite the numerical advantage, Dortmund had to wait until after the halftime break to extend their lead. Marcel Sabitzer found the net two minutes into the second half with a strike from the edge of the box, and Felix Nmecha added a third in the 72nd minute to seal the crucial victory and their European spot.
Following the conclusion of the Bundesliga season, Bayern Munich had already been crowned champions two weeks prior and finished their campaign with a 4-0 win over Hoffenheim. Last season’s champions, Bayer Leverkusen, finished as runners-up and set a new league record with their 34th consecutive away game without defeat after a 2-2 draw at Mainz 05.
Eintracht Frankfurt will join Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen, and Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League league phase. Freiburg will enter the Europa League, while sixth-placed Mainz 05 qualify for the Conference League. With VfL Bochum and Holstein Kiel already relegated, Heidenheim finished in 16th place and will contest a relegation/promotion playoff.
Dortmund’s players will now have a two-week break before preparing for their participation in the Club World Cup in the United States in early June.
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