AUGSBURG: Striker Sebastien Haller scored twice as Borussia Dortmund beat 10-man Augsburg 3-0 on Sunday to take control of the Bundesliga title race going into next week’s season finale.

Haller broke the deadlock in the 58th minute and tapped in his second goal of the afternoon six minutes before the end to seal the win that lifted them above Bayern Munich and into top spot.

Julian Brandt completed the win with a stoppage-time goal.

The Ruhr valley club, whose last title win came in 2012 under then coach Juergen Klopp, are on 70 points, two ahead of Bayern.

The Bavarians suffered a shock 3-1 home loss to RB Leipzig on Saturday when they conceded three goals in the second half through Konrad Laimer and penalties from Christopher Nkunku and Dominik Szoboszlai.

In a one-sided first half Dortmund had 16 shots on goal to Augsburg’s one and also hit the post through Niklas Suele but could not score even when the hosts were left with 10 men following the dismissal of Felix Uduokhai in the 38th.

Emre Can also hit the woodwork after the restart but they finally broke the deadlock through Haller when he slotted in off the post.

Augsburg instantly responded with a chance of their own but Dortmund keeper Gregor Kobel did well to stop Irvin Cardona’s shot from 10 metres.

Haller, who had missed much of the season after being diagnosed with testicular cancer last year, settled Dortmund’s nerves with a tap-in and Brandt completed their win in stoppage time.

Dortmund host Mainz 05 on the last matchday while Bayern, who have won the last 10 league titles, travel to Cologne in their season finale.

Earlier, a goal and two assists from substitute Chris Fuehrich gave Stuttgart a massive boost in their relegation fight, with a 4-1 win away at Mainz.

Brought on with 30 minutes remaining with the scores locked 1-1, Fuehrich laid on a goal for Serhou Guirassy just two minutes later, before adding one of his own.

The winger laid on another goal in injury time for Tanguy Coulibaly to take his side from the relegation places to the safety of 15th with one matchday remaining.

Having lost only one of their past eight home games, the home side hit the lead after 23 minutes, Marcus Ingvartsen wading through a sea of Stuttgart defenders to tap in a deflection off Wataro Endo.

Japan international Endo levelled things up for Stuttgart late in the first half, finishing off a counter from a Mainz corner with a superb volley past a helpless Finn Dahmen in goal.

Fuehrich laid a goal on for Guirassy midway through the second, before scoring one of his own, the winger shedding two defenders before curling in his fifth goal of the season.

Fuehrich then set up a fourth for Coulibaly in injury time, sealing a superb Sunday for Stuttgart.

In Sunday’s late game, sixth-placed Bayer Leverkusen can improve their chances of European football next season with a win at home against Borussia Moenchengladbach.

SCOREBOARD

(Tabulated under played, won, draw, lost, goals first goals after, points

Borussia Dortmund 33 22 4 7 81 42 70

Bayern Munich 33 20 8 5 90 37 68

RB Leipzig 33 19 6 8 60 39 63

Union Berlin 33 17 8 8 50 38 59

SC Freiburg 33 17 8 8 50 42 59

Bayer Leverkusen 32 14 7 11 55 44 49

Wolfsburg 33 13 10 10 56 46 49

Eintracht Frankfurt 33 12 11 10 56 51 47

Mainz 05 33 12 9 12 52 53 45

Cologne 33 10 12 11 48 52 42

Monchengladbach 32 10 9 13 48 53 39

Werder Bremen 33 10 6 17 51 63 36

Hoffenheim 33 10 5 18 47 56 35

Augsburg 33 9 7 17 42 61 34

Stuttgart 33 7 11 15 44 56 32

Bochum 33 9 5 19 37 72 32

Schalke 04 33 7 10 16 33 67 31

Hertha Berlin 33 6 8 19 40 68 26

Published in Dawn, May 22nd, 2023