Lacklustre Borussia Dortmund handed humbling 4-1 defeat by RB Leipzig

Borussia Dortmund's hopes of finishing in the Bundesliga top four are all but over after they were handed a crushing 4-1 defeat by RB Leipzig.

An abject second-half collapse gave way to a humbling defeat as Borussia Dortmund were beaten 4-1 away to RB Leipzig. Despite making a promising start and taking the lead through Jadon Sancho, the Black and Yellows gave up control of the game and Marco Rose's side took full advantage.

Loïs Openda and Benjamin Šeško helped RB Leipzig turn the game on its head, before goals from Mohamed Simakan and Christoph Baumgartner made sure of the three points. The defeat leaves Borussia Dortmund five points shy of Leipzig, who occupy fourth place in the Bundesliga standings with three games left to play this season.

There were four changes to the Borussia Dortmund starting lineup, with Salih Özcan and Felix Nmecha featuring in a new-look midfield. Karim Adeyemi returned straight to the XI after serving his suspension, joining Jadon Sancho and Niclas Füllkrug in attack. RB Leipzig did not spring any major surprises with their lineup, as Loïs Openda and Benjamin Šeško started up front.

Füllkrug and Sancho combined for Borussia Dortmund's first chance of the match, but Péter Gulácsi dove to his left and parried the Germany international's header away. Julian Brandt then forced another good save with a shot from distance.

Borussia Dortmund got their deserved opening goal at the 20-minute mark, and it was Sancho who found the back of the net with a sumptuous curling effort that landed into the top corner.

BVB's lead lasted just two minutes, as Openda pulled Leipzig back on level terms after getting on the end of Xavi Simons' excellent cross. Xavi then hit the post for Leipzig as the end-to-end action continued.

Leipzig took the lead on the stroke of half-time, with Šeško firing home on the rebound after Gregor Kobel saved Xaver Schlager's initial effort.

The second-half started in disastrous fashion for Borussia Dortmund, as Mohamed Simakan doubled Leipzig's lead before Mats Hummels was forced to come off with a muscular injury.

Borussia Dortmund went on the attack as they looked to salvage their hopes of finishing in the top four. Despite BVB's dominance in possession, Leipzig kept getting in behind on the counter-attack and looked the likelier of the two sides to score. And Christoph Baumgartner came off the bench to add icing to the scoreline, as he made it 4-1 after getting on the end of Benjamin Henrich's cross.

Borussia Dortmund completely capitulated in the second-half, and were outclassed by the ruthless RB Leipzig despite dominating possession. The result certainly does not bode well for Edin Terzic's side ahead of the first leg of their Champions League semifinal. And it will be interesting to see which BVB side turns up against Paris Saint-Germain.