Jurgen Klopp's final Bundesliga match in charge of Borussia Dortmund ended in a 3-2 victory over Werder Bremen this afternoon.
The popular coach, who has been linked with the likes of Real Madrid and Liverpool of late, announced earlier this year that this campaign would be his last in charge of Die Schwarzgelben after seven years at the helm.
This campaign may not have been overly positive, but during the 47-year-old's stint in charge, Dortmund were crowned champions of Germany on two occasions and won the DFB-Pokal once. In 2013, they also reached the final of the Champions League at Wembley, where they were defeated by domestic rivals Bayern Munich.
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Today's game at Signal Iduna Park was just nine minutes old when Dortmund, who seemed determined to hand their manager the perfect send-off, threatened the Bremen goal for the first time. Playmakers Shinji Kagawa and Marco Reus linked to tee up Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, but the Gabon international saw his effort cannon to safety off the upright.
However, there were no such problems for Kagawa six minutes later as the Japanese international broke the deadlock.
Dortmund midfielder Ilkay Gundogan, who like his manager is widely expected to leave the Yellows this summer, pounced on a mistake from Bremen defender Janiik Vestergaard to play in Kagawa. The former Manchester United midfielder made his way beyond two challenges, before firing his shot beyond the reach of Koen Casteels.
Then, within 120 seconds, Klopp's men were two goals to the good. On this occasion Aubameyang squeezed his shot from Kagawa's pass inside Casteels's post.
By this point Dortmund were rampant, only to then be pegged back against the run of play in the 25th minute. Levin Oztunali, who is on loan from Bayer Leverkusen, spun away from Mats Hummels and he then made the most of his opportunity by slotting his shot past Roman Weidenfeller from close range.
That goal sparked to visitors into life and they had an opportunity to equalise in the 34th minute when Franco di Santo scampered clear of the home defence, but his route to goal was blocked by Weidenfeller.
It would prove to be an important piece of goalkeeping by the Dortmund number one because with three minutes of the first half remaining, his side restored their two-goal advantage. Kagawa was again the creator, playing in Henrikh Mkhitaryan to produce a neat finish.
As the encounter wore on after the restart, Dortmund continued to carve out openings, but they were wasteful in front of goal.
It meant that when Bremen's Theodor Gebre Selassie pulled a goal back with five minutes remaining, there was a growing concern that Klopp would not be bowing out with a victory.
His men held out, though, to ensure that they go into next weekend's DFB-Pokal final in winning form.
Liam Apicella
