Dortmund beat 10-man Cologne to tighten grip on top-four spot
Borussia Dortmund claimed a 2-1 victory against Cologne on Saturday with strikes from Serhou Guirassy and Maximilian Beier, solidifying their position for Champions League qualification.
Their recent 3-2 defeat at home to Bayern Munich effectively dashed any remaining chances of winning the Bundesliga title.
However, this latest success extended the gap to eight points between second-placed Dortmund and fifth-placed RB Leipzig.
In the 16th minute, Beier delivered a precise pass over the Cologne backline, allowing Guirassy to net his 12th league goal of the campaign for the visitors.
Cologne's prospects of mounting a comeback faded right before the interval when Jahmai Simpson-Pusey stamped on Beier's heel, prompting referee Daniel Siebert to change his initial yellow card to a dismissal following a VAR check.
Beier played a key role once more by finishing coolly in the 60th minute. Although Jakub Kaminski grabbed a late goal back for Cologne, Dortmund managed to secure their first Bundesliga triumph since the middle of February.
After the match, Dortmund coach Niko Kovac appeared irritated while speaking to Sky Germany: "We managed to win a match where our performance was subpar, and as the manager, I am fully justified in feeling frustrated."
Kovac also verified reports that midfielder Julian Brandt, who assisted Beier's strike, will depart the club at the season's end after seven years, coinciding with the expiry of his deal.
Bayer Leverkusen twice came from behind yet surrendered their advantage near the end in a chaotic 3-3 stalemate away to Freiburg, just ahead of their Champions League encounter with Arsenal.
The Bundesliga side will welcome the Premier League frontrunners on Wednesday for the opening fixture of their last-16 matchup, but the weekend outcome has left them in sixth place, potentially damaging their bid to qualify for next season's European showpiece.
"We feel considerable disappointment," said Leverkusen manager Robert Andrich to Sky Germany.
"From Sunday onwards, our attention turns to Arsenal, though we must gather plenty more points in the Bundesliga to secure Champions League football again."
Freiburg led on two occasions via efforts from Vincenzo Grifo and Yuito Suzuki, only for Leverkusen to respond each time with goals by Christian Kofane and a stunning free-kick from Alejandro Grimaldo.
Martin Terrier's effort put the away team in front, but Matthias Ginter equalised with four minutes left on the clock.
Leipzig leave it late
In other action, RB Leipzig turned the game around at home with a 2-1 win over Augsburg, as Arthur Chaves deflected a shot into his own goal in added time.
Augsburg took the lead through Robin Fellhauer after Keven Schlotterbeck failed from the spot, but Yan Diomande restored parity for Leipzig before Chaves unfortunately bundled a David Raum delivery past his keeper.
This result lifted Leipzig into fifth, matching points with fourth-placed Stuttgart, who shared the spoils in a 2-2 draw at struggling Mainz.
Stuttgart trailed initially to a Lee Jae-sung goal but seemed set to win after Ermedin Demirovic and Deniz Undav struck within 61 seconds up to the hour mark, until Danny da Costa levelled late for the home side.
"We battled for the full 90 minutes. Once we regain the lead like that, we have to claim all three points," Demirovic remarked dejectedly to Sky.
Hoffenheim moved nearer to a second consecutive Champions League appearance by defeating bottom-of-the-table Heidenheim 4-2 on the road, holding onto third position.
Alexander Prass notched two in the first half, with Fisnik Asllani and Tim Lemperle adding to the scoreline for Hoffenheim, while Luca Kerber replied with a pair for the hosts.
In further results, Hamburg overturned a deficit to beat Wolfsburg 2-1, where every goal arrived from a penalty.
Disgruntled supporters at the away end tossed burning scarves onto the field following the loss, which drags second-from-bottom Wolfsburg, former 2009 German champions, closer to their first top-flight demotion since returning in 1997.