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• RB Leipzig 4-1 Borussia Dortmund: Hosts strengthen grip on fourth with crushing win

  Champions League semi-finalists Borussia Dortmund suffered a crushing 4-1 Bundesliga defeat at the hands of RB Leipzig on Saturday, denting their hopes of a top-four finish.

  Manchester United loanee Jadon Sancho put Dortmund ahead after 20 minutes with a curling effort from the left corner of the box, but Edin Terzic's team couldn't hold on.

  Lois Openda levelled within three minutes, and Benjamin Sesko pounced with a close-range finish to put Leipzig ahead on the stroke of half-time.

  Mohamed Simakan made it 3-1 just one minute after the restart, then Christoph Baumgartner came off the bench to add a fourth with 10 minutes to play.

  Dortmund, who host Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final tie on Wednesday, stay fifth, five points behind fourth-placed Leipzig.

  They will likely have to wait on confirmation of Germany earning a fifth Champions League qualification place for next season, which was made more likely by a dismal set of results for England's clubs throughout the European quarter-finals earlier this month.

  Data Debrief: Dynamic duo lead Leipzig to victory

  Goals from Openda and Sesko ensured Leipzig turned Saturday's game around before the halfway point, both players netting in their fourth successive Bundesliga game together. 

  They are the first pair of team-mates to achieve that feat since Dortmund's Marco Reus and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang did so in February 2015.

   

• Borussia Dortmund gearing up for crucial clashes against RB Leipzig and PSG

  Borussia Dortmund are bracing for their two most important matches of the season.

  Saturday's game at RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga is followed by a Champions League semi-final first leg at home to Paris-Saint Germain on May 1.

  With the league title already wrapped up by runaway leaders Bayer Leverkusen, attention has shifted to the battle to qualify for the European competitions next season.

  Dortmund's unexpected success in Europe has thrilled fans but the team's future in the continent's top club competition beyond this term could rest a lot on the result against Leipzig.

  BVB are in fifth place on 57 points with Leipzig fourth on 59 and four games left in the campaign. The top four teams qualify for the Champions League group stage, although Germany is likely to earn a fifth spot as one of the top two in UEFA's coefficient table depending on the remaining results in European competition this season.

  A Dortmund defeat against Leipzig would see them drift five points behind their rivals with three games remaining, so Edin Terzic's side are aiming to keep hot on their rivals' heels.

  "It is a very important, decisive game against Leipzig," said Dortmund defender Nico Schlotterbeck.

  "They are our direct rivals and it is a big difference for us finishing fourth or fifth.

  "We lost against them earlier in the season and now we want to win this. It is the fight for fourth place."

  Dortmund conceded a last-gasp equaliser in last week's 1-1 draw against Leverkusen but have won five of their last seven league games, including a 2-0 victory over Bayern Munich.

  "It is extremely important for us to keep trying with 100 per cent to get that fourth place," said goalkeeper Gregor Kobel.

  "We cannot sit back and relax until we have achieved that. We must maintain focus and step on the gas."

• RB Leipzig chief determined to seal top-four Bundesliga finish

  RB Leipzig are determined to wrap up a top-four Bundesliga finish, despite fifth spot possibly earning a place in next season's Champions League, the club's chief business officer said on Thursday.

  Leipzig, who host Borussia Dortmund on Saturday, are fourth on 59 points, two ahead of Dortmund with four games left in the season. A win would put the Saxony club firmly in the driving seat for a top-four finish.

  The top four qualify automatically for the Champions League group stage, although Germany is likely to earn a fifth spot as one of the top two in UEFA's coefficient table depending on the remaining results in European competition this season.

  "That (potential fifth spot) involves a lot of data and statistics," said Leipzig CBO Johann Plenge in a media call. "We are not spending too much time on this discussion."

  "This is not something we take too much into consideration. We have the ambition to be a top-four club and to be that you have to finish in at least fourth place," he said.

  Leipzig, who will go on a U.S. tour from July 28-Aug. 4 and will play Aston Villa in New Jersey, also competed in the Champions League this season, losing to Real Madrid 2-1 on aggregate in the round of 16.

  "The match (against Dortmund) is extremely important. We are very focused and 100% confident we will give everything on the pitch," Plenge said.

  "I think we have a very good situation to finish the season as a top-four club."

  Plenge said for the new season the club planned to hold on to their top performers, unlike last year when several key players, including Josko Gvardiol, Dominik Szoboszlai, Christopher Nkunku and Konrad Laimer, left, forcing a big overhaul.

  "We had a very intense transfer period last summer. We developed some great players [for] the Premier League. We want a less intense transfer period and to keep the players together," Plenge said.

  "Having them in our team next season is what we will do in the summer."