Jurgen Klopp's seven-year spell at Borussia Dortmund ended in disappointment as the German giants lost 3-1 to Wolfsburg in the DFB-Pokal final.
The 47-year-old will leave the club a hero after guiding them to two Bundesliga titles, one German Cup, and a Champions League final during his time in charge, but his farewell season was one to forget.
Dortmund got off to the ideal start as Erik Durm and Shinji Kagawa combined to line up Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in front of goal, and the Gabon international volleyed home the opener with just six minutes played.
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Wolfsburg almost hit back within a minute as Ivan Perisic tested Dortmund goalkeeper Mitch Langerak with a low strike after being picked out by Bas Dost, and it did not take them much longer to restore parity.
Naldo sailed a free kick into the danger zone with 22 minutes played, and Luiz Gustavo scrambled the ball beyond Langerak at the second time of asking to level the tie.
Dortmund found themselves trailing just after the half-hour mark as former Chelsea man Kevin De Bruyne powered in Wolfsburg's second, sending a low strike in off the post.
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Klopp's final game looked to be turning into a nightmare in the 38th minute when Dost made it 3-1 by capitalising on poor marking from the opposition to head home Perisic's cross and give Dortmund a mountain to climb in the second period.
Wolfsburg came close to killing the game off early in the second period as Daniel Caligiuri stung the palms of Langerak after the Dortmund defence afforded him too much space in the danger zone.
Dortmund came within inches of pulling one back at the other end moments later as Marco Reus teed up Kagawa in the box, and the Japan international's strike clipped the outside of the post on its way behind.
Wolfsburg held out comfortably for the win, although Henrik Mkhitaryan twice squandered opportunities to pull a goal back for Klopp's side, whose only consolation for a lacklustre campaign is a spot in the Europa League.
Mark Langshaw
