Frankfurt wasted very little time in getting off the mark in a 30th Bundesliga match out of 33 this season, stunning the out-of-form hosts with a second-minute opener.
Mahmoud Dahoud hustled to keep hold of the ball on the corner of the box before laying it off to Can Uzun, who expertly found the far bottom corner with a curled finish.
Their ascent above Freiburg into the all-important 7th position in the table proved short lived though, as missed chances for Marcel Sabitzer and Samuele Inacio were mere warnings for Dortmund’s turnaround late in the half.
Now playing only for the pride of second place, the hosts equalised when Julian Ryerson’s scything low cross from the right was met by Serhou Guirassy at the near post and touched into Michael Zetterer’s top corner.
And it was just a matter of minutes before the turnaround was completed in first half stoppage time, as Maximilian Beier found an unmarked Nico Schlotterbeck in an otherwise crowded area for the central defender to squeeze a low finish inside the far post.
Frankfurt saw an improvement as the second half got underway, though Fares Chaibi was marginally offside before finishing past Gregor Kobel.
But any hopes of a comeback were ended when Beier crossed again from the left, this time for Inácio to net for the first time for Dortmund, nudging beyond Zetter from close range.
That goal was especially symbolic as the potential beginning of a new era for Die Schwarzgelben, with Julian Brandt leaving the Westfalenstadion pitch for the final time as a Dortmund player shortly thereafter.
What was shaping up to be a routine victory for the hosts was put under scrutiny when Ansgar Knauff put it on a plate for substitute Jonathan Burkardt late on, but there was to be no further reply from the visitors.
Dortmund defied their faltering recent form to finally get over the line as the best of the rest in the Bundesliga, crossing the 70-point mark for just the second time in seven seasons. It’s a bleaker picture for Albert Riera’s side, who will know that a win for Freiburg on Sunday will end their chances of participating in a major European competition for the sixth season in a row.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Nico Schlotterbeck (Borussia Dortmund)
