Late goals from Sebastien Haller and Davy Klaassen gave Ajax a 3-1 win over 10-man Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Wednesday to book its place in the knockout stages of the tournament.

Despite going a man down in the first half, Dortmund led the game until Dusan Tadic leveled the score for Ajax in the 72nd minute, before goals from Haller and Klaassen gave Ajax the win.

Also read: Champions League: Liverpool down 10-man Atletico Madrid

With this win, Ajax has assured itself of qualifying with four wins from four games in Group C. The Dutch champions have a six-point lead over Dortmund and Sporting Lisbon, which beat Besiktas 4-0 in the other game on Wednesday

Dortmund defender Mats Hummels was sent off over a lunging challenge on Brazilian winger Antony despite relatively light contact. Hummels seemed stunned as he walked off the pitch after VAR upheld the red card.

Dortmund responded by taking the lead eight minutes later after the VAR system drew the referee’s attention to a foul on England midfielder Jude Bellingham by Ajax’s Noussair Mazraoui. Captain Marco Reus stepped up to convert the resulting penalty.

Needing a win to be sure of qualifying, Ajax put Dortmund under pressure throughout the second half and was rewarded when Dusan Tadic scored off an assist from Antony in the 72nd minute of the game. Haller then followed up the first goal with a header in the 83rd minute to give Ajax the lead and Klaassen doubled the lead in stoppage time to effectively put the game to bed.

Ajax had thrashed Dortmund 4-0 when the two teams first met in the Champions League this season in Amsterdam last month, but the German team was much more competitive on Wednesday even without striker Erling Haaland, who watched from the stands with a hip muscle injury.

(With AP input)