Former European champions Hamburg SV were relegated from the Bundesliga for the first time on Saturday in spite of a 2-1 win over Borussia Moenchengladbach.
Borussia Dortmund scraped into fourth place and a UEFA Champions League spot in the season’s final round of matches.
Hamburg, the only team with an uninterrupted Bundesliga run since the league’s creation in 1963, left their distraught fans in tears.
This is because their stadium clock showing 54 years and 260 days in the top division now needs to be reset.
The northern club, whose game was interrupted for 15 minutes by fans throwing flares onto the pitch near the end, finished second-bottom on 31 points.
They were two points behind VfL Wolfsburg, who beat Cologne 4-1, and face second-tier Holstein Kiel in a relegation playoff.
Dortmund were made to sweat until the last seconds to secure the final Champions League spot after losing 3-1 at Hoffenheim, who grabbed third place ahead of them on goal difference.
Dortmund’s marginally better goal difference — three goals — over Bayer Leverkusen, who conceded two goals against Hanover 96 after leading 3-0, meant they finished fourth.
They grabbed the lucrative European spot which takes them into the group stage.
“It was a very difficult season and at the end I am just happy that we made it and rescued ourselves at the finish line,” said Dortmund midfielder Nuri Sahin.
“It is clear that we are not satisfied and that we need to be very critical. Such a season should not happen again,” Sahin said of his team who started out as title contenders but had to endure a roller-coaster season due to their inconsistency.
RB Leipzig’s Jean-Kevin Augustin scored twice in their 6-2 demolition of hosts Hertha Berlin as they joined Leverkusen in the Europa League.
Champions Bayern Munich suffered a surprise 4-1 home loss to VfB Stuttgart as they prepare for the German Cup final against Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday.
But there was still plenty of celebrating in Munich as they lifted the Bundesliga trophy and forward Robert Lewandowski was crowned top scorer for the third time with 29 league goals.
Victory for the Bavarians in the Cup final would mean seventh-placed Stuttgart could compete in the second qualifying round of the Europa League. (Reuters/NAN)
