Hoffenheim 3 Borussia Dortmund 1: Both sides edge out Leverkusen in thrilling top-four race | OneFootball

An entertaining encounter saw Hoffenheim edge Borussia Dortmund 3-1 on Saturday - a result which proved just enough for both sides to secure Champions League qualification.

With two of the top-four spots still to play for heading into a thrilling final round of Bundesliga action, these two sides were locked in a four-way tussle with Bayer Leverkusen and RB Leipzig to see who would join Bayern Munich and Schalke as Germany's representatives at European football's top table for 2018-19.

Although Leipzig won handsomely at Hertha Berlin, other results did not go their way while Leverkusen's 3-2 success against Hannover saw them finish tied on 55 points with both of these teams, ultimately undone by a final goal difference inferior to Hoffenheim's and Dortmund's by just four and three respectively.

Roman Burki's mistake gifted Andrej Kramaric the opener midway through the first half, but that lead was cancelled out by Marco Reus in the 58th minute.

Adam Szalai soon restored Hoffenheim's advantage, however, and Pavel Kaderabek's scramble saw Hoffenheim leapfrog their opponents into third, leaving Dortmund in a perilous position just above Leverkusen.

That left Leverkusen still needing a two-goal swing in their favour, but in chasing a fourth Heiko Herrlich's side conceded twice on the counter in the final minutes, effectively putting an end to their hopes and calming the frayed nerves of Dortmund.