Stuttgart relegated after 41 years, late winner saves Werder

Former champions VfB Stuttgart were relegated from the Bundesliga for the first time in 41 years after losing 3-1 at VfL Wolfsburg in the top flight season finale on Saturday.

Werder Bremen staged a last-gasp rescue with Papy Djilobodji’s 88th-minute goal giving them a 1-0 win over visiting relegation rivals Eintracht Frankfurt to keep their spot in the Bundesliga, with their opponents going into a playoff against Nuremberg, third in the second division.

Stuttgart, who needed a win to have a chance at earning the playoff place, quickly fell two goals behind in the first half as one of the Bundesliga’s founding clubs faced their second relegation after 1975.

Daniel Didavi’s 78th-minute goal gave them a glimmer of hope but Andre Schuerrle sealed Wolfsburg’s win in the final minute with his second goal of the game.

The 2007 Bundesliga champions ended up with the worst ever defensive Bundesliga record, having let in 75 goals and having also scored a record seven own goals in the process.

Bayern Munich forward Robert Lewandowski took the honours as the league’s top scorer with 30 goals after netting in the champions’ 3-1 victory over already-relegated Hanover 96.

The Poland striker is the first player to score at least 30 goals in a season since Dieter Mueller in 1977 and became the first foreign Bundesliga top scorer to net 30 times or more as he won the title for the second time in three seasons.

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Bayern’s title celebrations on coach Pep Guardiola’s last home game, before his move to Manchester City, were cut short after several hundred fans invaded the pitch for the traditional beer showers and trophy ceremony.

Borussia Moenchengladbach sealed fourth place with a 2-0 win at Darmstadt 98 and will go into the Champions League playoffs.

Borussia Dortmund, in second place on 78 points, 10 behind Bayern, managed a 2-2 draw at home to Cologne as they prepare to face the Bavarians in the German Cup final on May 21.

Bayer Leverkusen, who secured third place weeks ago, rounded off the season with a 3-2 comeback win over visitors Ingolstadt.

Schalke 04, who announced just before their game that coach Andre Breitenreiter would be sacked at the end of the season, crushed Hoffenheim 4-1 away to clinch a Europa League spot.

Mainz 05 battled to a 0-0 draw at Hertha Berlin to finish sixth and snatch the last automatic Europa League spot from the hosts, who will go into the competition’s qualifying rounds.

 

 

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