Dortmund thrash Freiburg in 1,000th home game to seal Champions League spot

After back-to-back league defeats, Niko Kovac's side responded emphatically, racing into a 2-0 lead inside 14 minutes through Maximilian Beier and Serhou Guirassy, with Ramy Bensebaini adding a third before half-time.

Freiburg, who made seven changes and were missing several key players, struggled to cope and managed just three first-half shots, with Gregor Kobel largely untroubled.

The visitors showed brief improvement after the break and had a goal ruled out for offside, but Dortmund remained in control. Substitute Fabio Silva capped the performance late on to complete the scoring.

The win also brought up Dortmund's 600th Bundesliga home victory, while Freiburg slipped to eighth after missing the chance to strengthen their push for European qualification.

"We are of course delighted to have won our 1,000th home game. I think the team played very well over the full 90 minutes. Compliments and congratulations to the players for already securing Champions League qualification," said Dortmund coach Kovac after the win.

Elsewhere, fourth-placed VfB Stuttgart was held to a 1-1 draw by Werder Bremen but remains fourth.

Jens Stage gave the visitors the lead in the 18th minute with a precise right-footed strike into the far corner (assisted by Yukinari Sugawara), before Ermedin Demirovic equalized for Stuttgart in the 61st minute with a header from Bilal El Khannouss's cross.