Inácio's first BVB goal caps Dortmund's comeback as Kovac's side seal Bundesliga runners-up
Borussia Dortmund came from a goal down to beat Eintracht Frankfurt 3-2 at Signal Iduna Park on Friday night, and the result locked in a Bundesliga runners-up finish for Niko Kovac's side with one matchday still to play.
It was an emotionally loaded evening on the Yellow Wall, with Julian Brandt, Niklas Süle and Salih Özcan all making their final home appearances for the club. The football itself took two minutes to turn rough on the hosts. Mahmoud Dahoud beat three defenders on the edge of the area before laying the ball off to Can Uzun, who guided his finish into the bottom-right corner.
A first-half turnaround
Dortmund needed until first-half stoppage time to climb back in front, but when the swing came it came quickly. Serhou Guirassy met Julian Ryerson's ball into the box on 42 minutes for the equaliser, then three minutes later, on the cusp of half-time, Maximilian Beier cut the ball back from the byline for Nico Schlotterbeck to steer in at the far corner. Schlotterbeck's goal was a fitting one on a tribute night, and it sent the home support into the interval with the lead they had been chasing since Uzun's second-minute opener.
Inácio's volley
Samuele Inácio, the 18-year-old Italian forward, came off the bench in the second half and produced the moment of the evening on 72 minutes. The move began with Jobe Bellingham finding Beier on the left, and Beier picked out a cutback that Inácio met with a clean volley from close range. It was his first goal in senior football for Dortmund, a finish the Westfalenstadion will not forget in a hurry.
Frankfurt did not go quietly. Jonathan Burkardt poked in from a Knauff cross with three minutes left to make it 3-2 and squeeze the closing minutes, but the visitors could not find a leveller. The points stayed in Dortmund.
Second place sealed
The win was the one Kovac wanted to clinch second outright. Dortmund are now mathematically beyond Bayer Leverkusen and the chasing pack with one round to go, behind only champions Bayern Munich. They were already through to next season's Champions League after the Freiburg result earlier in the run-in. Friday's victory was about the badge on the table next to their name and the send-off the three departing players were always going to get.
Frankfurt go into Matchday 34 still scrapping for their European place, while Dortmund head into the final weekend already settled where they wanted to be.
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