Borussia Dortmund sports director Sebastian Kehl says that maintaining faith will be the key if they have to take the qualification of Champions League, after the controversial 3-2 victory of Saturday at Hoffenheim.
Dortmund seemed to be drawn up to drop two valuable points in the European race when Pavel Kaderabekk scored the second equalizer of Hoffenheim in the 90th minute, but more drama followed five minutes in the stopping time.
Waldemar Anton threw in an empty just after an annoying collision between Carney Chukwuemeka and Hoffenheim -goalkeeper Oliver Baumann, sealed the fourth victory of, for example, in their last five league games.
They are now sixth in the Bundesliga with three games to play, only three points behind the fourth Freiburg placed with a superior target difference.
Kehl told Sky Sports in Germany after the game: “We needed this victory today and we have the three points, that's the decisive one.
“To win the game in this way, we have to give us strength in the coming weeks. We have to continue to believe in it and then we can still do it.”
𝐵𝒪𝑅𝒰𝒮𝒮𝐼𝒜 𝒟𝒪𝑅𝒯𝑀𝒰𝒩𝒟 pic.twitter.com/ovi5lqmq1d
– Borussia Dortmund (@blackyellow) 26 April 2025
Hoffenheim remains 15th in the table, only five points free from Heidenheim, who take the relegation play-off place.
Their coach Christian Ilzer was furious with the decision to allow the winner of Dortmund and say: “It was a scandalous decision! What about the issue of head injury?
“I have seen it several times, you can see Baumann's drawn face.
“Chukwuemeka does not touch the ball. Oli is switched off and the Dortmund player shoots the ball into the empty goal.”
His counterpart to Dortmund Niko Kovac, however, felt that Chukwuemeka touched the ball before he made contact with Baumann.
“I think Carney touches the ball a little earlier and that is not a mistake for me,” he said. “The fact that the ball then falls for us and Waldi then shoots, it just happened that way.
“If Baumann has the ball for Carney, it is a mistake. But you can see that Carney will hit the ball earlier.”
Dortmund host Wolfsburg next week, with a trip to Bayer Leverkusen and a home game against relegation-threatened Holstein Kiel who completes their campaign.