Haaland nets in farewell win as Hertha go to relegation play-off after late Stuttgart goal

Erling Haaland and Youssoufa Moukoko scored as Borussia Dortmund beat relegation-threatened Hertha Berlin 2-1 at Signal Iduna Park.

In a game where they needed a point to avoid a potential relegation play–off, Hertha Berlin took the lead through a Ishak Belfodil penalty.

Dan-Axel Zagadou swept at the feet of Belfodil before the assistant referee raised his flag for offside, but VAR was utilised effectively as the penalty decision correctly stood.

After a period of frustration as Dortmund battled the robust defence of Hertha Berlin, they finally broke the deadlock after VAR awarded another penalty.

Raphael Guerreiro fired a dangerous free-kick on the edge of the box into the Hertha wall, which struck the arm of Marvin Plattenhardt.

Haaland stepped up in front of the Yellow Wall and hammered his spot-kick off the goalkeeper and into the roof of the net to equalise on his final appearance for the club.

With five minutes to go, Moukoko found a winner just one minute after coming on as a substitute which, combined with a late Stuttgart goal, meant Hertha go into the relegation play-off.

TALKING POINT – HERTHA TO PLAY RELEGATION PLAY-OFF

It was all going so well for Hertha Berlin – maybe too good to be true – as they went 1-0 up through a Belfodil penalty and defended their lead for well over an hour. It took another penalty, dispatched by departing Erling Haaland, to chalk off Belfodil’s opener.

A point was enough to confirm Hertha’s survival, so at this point they remained safe, but the arrival of 17-year-old Youssoufa Moukoko ended Hertha’s hopes of scraping through, with the teenager scoring within a minute of coming on, five minutes from time. News filtered through that relegation rivals Stuttgart had scored a winner in the 92nd minute of their game v FC Koln, which means Hertha will have to battle it out with the third-place finishers in Bundesliga 2.

MAN OF THE MATCH – JUDE BELLINGHAM (BORUSSIA DORTMUND)

He continues to impress after committing his future to Dortmund, after revealing this week he’ll remain at Signal Iduna Park next season. Hertha made themselves really difficult to break down after going one-nil up, but Bellingham kept picking at the bank of Hertha players with his exquisite, pin-point through balls, clever movement, and used his body well to draw fouls in dangerous positions.

Bellingham, playing alongside veteran and fan-favourite Axel Witsel, is like a 36-year-old veteran playing in an 18-year-old’s body. Witsel bowed out of his Dortmund career today, but Dortmund fans can take comfort in the fact that his minefield partner – Bellingham – is more than capable of filling the void

MATCH RATINGS

DORTMUND: Burki 6, Guerreiro 7, Zagadou 7, Akanji 7, Can 6, Witsel 6, Bellingham 8, Wolf 7, Brandt 6, Reus 7, Haaland 7

Subs: Bynoe-Gittens 6, Pongracic N/A, Moukolo N/A, Reiner N/A

HERTHA: Lotka 7, Pekarik 6, Boyata 6, Kempf 6, Plattenhardt 6, Tousart 7, Ascacibar 6, Ekkelenkamp 5, Serdar 6, Mittelstädt 6, Belfodil 7

Subs: Jovetic N/A, Bjorkan 6, Darida 6, Boateng N/A, Richter 6

KEY MOMENTS

16’ – PENALTY HERTHA! Zagadou sweeps at the feet of Belfodil but the assistant has his flag up. It looks like it’s onside though, the referee has gone over to the VAR monitor with a lot to decide…

18’ – GOAL! DORTMUND 0-1 HERTHA BERLIN (BELFODIL): Belfodil slots the penalty away!

66’ – PENALTY DORTMUND! The referee has had a check, and points to the spot!

68’ – GOAL! DORTMUND 1-1 HERTHA BERLIN (HAALAND): He converts the penalty to score on his last appearance for the club!

84’ – GOAL! DORTMUND 2-1 HERTHA (MOUKOKO): That could be a huge goal in the relegation battle! Moukoko scores within a minute of coming off the bench to surely wrap up all three points for Dortmund.

KEY STAT

• 85 – Borussia Dortmund have scored 85 goals in the Bundesliga this season, setting a new club record for most goals within a single season in the division (Opta).