Soccer Football - Bundesliga - RB Leipzig v Borussia Dortmund - Red Bull Arena, Leipzig, Germany - June 20, 2020 Borussia Dortmund's Giovanni Reyna in action with RB Leipzig's Kevin Kampl and Tyler Adams, following the resumption of play behind closed doors after the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Ronny Hartmann/Pool via REUTERS
Erling Haaland scored twice as Borussia Dortmund beat closest challengers RB Leipzig 2-0 away on Saturday to wrap up second place in the Bundesliga.
The Norwegian teenager kept up his sensational scoring run since his January arrival with his double taking his tally to 13 goals in 10 German League starts.
The victory guaranteed Dortmund would finish runners-up behind Bayern Munich for the fifth time in the last eight years as Leipzig, the only team that could catch them, needed at least a point to have a chance of finishing second.
Soccer Football - Bundesliga - RB Leipzig v Borussia Dortmund - Red Bull Arena, Leipzig, Germany - June 20, 2020 Borussia Dortmund's Giovanni Reyna in action with RB Leipzig's Kevin Kampl, following the resumption of play behind closed doors after the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Ronny Hartmann/Pool via REUTERS
Instead, Dortmund advanced to 69 points while Leipzig stayed in third place on 63 with just one more match to play next Saturday.
However, a berth in next season’s Champions League is all but confirmed for Leipzig despite the defeat, after Bayer Leverkusen also lost on Saturday.
Haaland’s 30th-minute opener was a club record 83rd league goal of the season for Dortmund and was arguably one of their best of the campaign.
Soccer Football - Bundesliga - RB Leipzig v Borussia Dortmund - Red Bull Arena, Leipzig, Germany - June 20, 2020 RB Leipzig's Timo Werner in action with Borussia Dortmund's Giovanni Reyna and Raphael Guerreiro, following the resumption of play behind closed doors after the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Ronny Hartmann/Pool via REUTERS
It started with defender Mats Hummels dribbling past several opponents near the halfway line, setting up a run down the flank and pass inside from Julian Brandt.
Seventeen-year-old American debutant Giovanni Reyna then laid off the ball for Haaland to finish.
Haaland, 19, added a second on the stroke of fulltime but could easily have scored more were it not for the goalkeeping heroics of Leipzig’s Peter Gulasci, who denied him three times at point-blank range.
Soccer Football - Bundesliga - RB Leipzig v Borussia Dortmund - Red Bull Arena, Leipzig, Germany - June 20, 2020 RB Leipzig's Timo Werner in action with Borussia Dortmund's Giovanni Reyna and Raphael Guerreiro, following the resumption of play behind closed doors after the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Ronny Hartmann/Pool via REUTERS
Mateu Morey also missed when in front of goal early in the second half, after Haaland played him in but Gulasci did enough to put him off his final effort.
It was the final home game for Leipzig’s Chelsea-bound striker Timo Werner, but he proved largely anonymous save for a 40th-minute effort from a tight angle that Dortmund keeper Roman Buerki blocked, and he was replaced with 20 minutes left.
There was a late chance for the hosts to equalise but with six minutes left flying fullback Angelino saw his effort blocked by Buerki, leaving Haaland to have the final say.
Soccer Football - Bundesliga - RB Leipzig v Borussia Dortmund - Red Bull Arena, Leipzig, Germany - June 20, 2020 Borussia Dortmund's Erling Braut Haaland celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates, following the resumption of play behind closed doors after the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Ronny Hartmann/Pool via REUTERS
(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Toby Davis)
Soccer Football - Bundesliga - RB Leipzig v Borussia Dortmund - Red Bull Arena, Leipzig, Germany - June 20, 2020 RB Leipzig's Kevin Kampl in action with Borussia Dortmund's Julian Brandt, following the resumption of play behind closed doors after the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Ronny Hartmann/Pool via REUTERS
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