Borussia Dortmund clinched a place in the UEFA Champions League for the 10th time in 11 seasons by beating Mainz on the penultimate day of the league season.
The achievement could be a boost to their hopes of keeping star players Erling Braut Haaland and Jadon Sancho in Germany for next season as well.
Sancho was heavily linked with Manchester United last season but the trade did not go through as United refused to meet Dortmund’s asking price for the English international. The rumours have resurfaced once again but Sancho is determined for the move to go through this time around to return home and play in England.
Dortmund were seven points off the top four in early April but have won six consecutive Bundesliga games since then and their impressive showing in the quarterfinals against Manchester City seemed to have propelled that belief in the side that they could bounce back.
Raphael Guerreiro, Marco Reus and Julian Brandt found the net for the Black and Yellow as they raced to a 3-1 win over Mainz in the Bundesliga. Robin Quaison scored a last-minute consolation penalty for hosts Mainz but it really had no bearing on the game in any way.
Dortmund crushed RB Leipzig 4-1 to win the German Cup (DFB-Pokal) on Thursday and that could be Sancho and Haaland’s parting gift with the club although rumour has it that the Norwegian will stay with Die Schwarz-Gelben for another year.
“Not many people believed in us,” Dortmund captain Reus said.
“The team deserves an incredible compliment. We have shown a really strong mentality in the last few weeks.
“When we have to, we are capable of great things.”
Reus has been instrumental in Dortmund’s success ever since he moved to the club from Monchengladbach and he will be hoping to lead his team to Bundesliga glory once again with their last victory coming way back in 2011-12 under Jurgen Klopp’s management.
