Pro Sports

Haaland goals secure Bundesliga runner-up spot for Dortmund

Posted June 20, 2020 7:00 am

By CIARÃN FAHEY

Dortmund's Erling Braut Haaland, center background, celebrates with his teammates after he scored his side's first goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund in Leipzig, Germany, Saturday, June 20, 2020. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer, Pool) The Associated Press

BERLIN (AP) - Erling Haaland scored twice as Borussia Dortmund sealed second place in the Bundesliga with a 2-0 win at third-place Leipzig on Saturday.

Bayern Munich, which wrapped up its eighth straight title by beating Werder Bremen on Tuesday, celebrated with a 3-1 win at home over Freiburg.

Players on all teams in the penultimate round wore a badge on their sleeves promoting the German government's new coronavirus tracing app, which was also advertised on corner flags.

On his first professional start, 17-year-old American Gio Reyna set up Haaland on a counterattack in the 30th minute. It was Rayna's first assist in the league.

The 19-year-old Haaland also hit the crossbar. The Norwegian had to wait until injury time before he grabbed his second - and 13th goal in 14 league appearances - set up this time by Julian Brandt.

It means Dortmund is assured of second place with one game of the season remaining. Despite defeat, Leipzig is virtually assured of Champions League soccer next season.

Leipzig is one point ahead of Borussia MÃ¶nchengladbach, which took advantage of Bayer Leverkusen's 2-0 loss at Hertha Berlin to move fourth with a 3-1 win at already relegated Paderborn.

Leverkusen needed a win to stay ahead of Gladbach in fourth, the last place for Champions League qualification, but failed to make the most of a good start and couldn't recover after Matheus Cunha fired Hertha into a 22nd-minute lead.

Dodi Lukebakio, who combined with Krzysztof Piatekto set up Cunha, scored Hertha's second goal early in the second half, when Piatek gave him an easy finish.

It left Leverkusen two points behind Gladbach in fifth, three points behind Leipzig, but with a vastly inferior goal difference to the energy drink manufacturer-backed club.

Leverkusen now needs a favor from Hertha, which visits Gladbach in the last round, while it hosts Mainz.

RELEGATION RACE

Mainz, Cologne and Augsburg all ensured top-tier soccer next season, as Bremen's troubles deepened.

Mainz players lifted their right arms in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement after Robin Quaison's opening goal in a 3-1 win over 17th-place Bremen.

The team above Bremen, Fortuna DÃ¼sseldorf, earned a hard-fought 1-1 draw at home to Augsburg.

Rouwen Hennings thought he'd given DÃ¼sseldorf the early lead with a powerful shot, but video review ruled it out for handball in the build-up.

Augsburg promptly scored through Florian Niederlechner, but Hennings hit back with a goal from outside the box to level it up. Fortuna threw players forward in stoppage time in search of a win that would have removed the threat of automatic relegation, but Augsburg held firm for the draw.

Four-time champion Bremen is two points behind Fortuna and will need a win over Cologne next week to have any chance of avoiding dropping out of the top division for the first time since 1981.

Either DÃ¼sseldorf or Bremen will face a playoff against the third-place team from the second division.

Cologne drew with Eintracht Frankfurt 1-1.

OTHER GAMES

Union Berlin, still celebrating after clinching its survival on Wednesday, slipped to a 4-0 loss at Hoffenheim, which booked its place in the Europa League next season.

Schalke's club-record winless run stretched to 14 games after a 4-1 defeat at Wolfsburg, which also booked a Europa League qualification place.

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AP Sports Writer James Ellingworth contributed from DÃ¼sseldorf.

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More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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CiarÃ¡n Fahey on Twitter: https://twitter.com/cfaheyAP

Dortmund's Erling Braut Haaland, left, and Leipzig's Dayot Upamecano fight for the ball during the German Bundesliga soccer match between RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund in Leipzig, Germany, Saturday, June 20, 2020. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer, Pool) The Associated Press

Dortmund's Erling Braut Haaland, left, celebrates with his teammate Julian Brandt after he scored his side's second goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund in Leipzig, Germany, Saturday, June 20, 2020. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer, Pool) The Associated Press

Bremen's head coach Florian Kohfeldt stands on the sidelines during the German Bundesliga soccer match between 1. FSV Mainz 05 and SV Werder Bremen in Mainz, Germany, Saturday, June 20, 2020. (Arne Dedert/Pool viaAP) The Associated Press

Bremen's Joshua Sargent and Christian Gross, right, challenge for the ball with Danny Latza, center, from Mainz during the German Bundesliga soccer match between 1. FSV Mainz 05 and SV Werder Bremen in Mainz, Germany, Saturday, June 20, 2020. (Arne Dedert/Pool via AP) The Associated Press

The Mainz players Moussa Niakhate, Pierre-Kunde Malong, Robin Quaison, Jeremiah St. Juste and Ridle Baku, from left, rise their clenched fist to celebrate their side opening goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between 1. FSV Mainz 05 and SV Werder Bremen in Mainz, Germany, Saturday, June 20, 2020. (Arne Dedert/Pool viaAP) The Associated Press

Berlin's Dodi Lukebakio, left, celebrates his goal with team mate Berlin's Krzysztof Piatek during a German Bundesliga soccer match between Hertha BSC Berlin and Bayer Leverkusen in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, June 20, 2020. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, Pool) The Associated Press

Berlin's Krzysztof Piatek, center, and Leverkusen's goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky challenge for the ball during a German Bundesliga soccer match between Hertha BSC Berlin and Bayer Leverkusen in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, June 20, 2020. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, Pool) The Associated Press

Berlin's Marko Grujic, right, and Leverkusen's Kai Havertz challenge for the ball during a German Bundesliga soccer match between Hertha BSC Berlin and Bayer Leverkusen in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, June 20, 2020. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, Pool) The Associated Press

The logo of Germany's Corona App is displayed on a corner flag in the Olympic stadium prior to a German Bundesliga soccer match between Hertha BSC Berlin and Bayer Leverkusen in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, June 20, 2020. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, Pool) The Associated Press

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