Skip to content

Bundesliga round-up: Borussia Dortmund made to sweat for Champions League spot

Borussia Dortmund head coach Peter Stoger
Image: Borussia Dortmund head coach Peter Stoger announced he would be leaving the club

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 and grabbed the lucrative European spot which takes them into the group stage.

But it was the last Dortmund match for coach Peter Stoger, who confirmed his widely-expected departure less than six months after taking over.

The Austrian had failed to inject consistency into their game after taking over from Dutchman Peter Bosz in December.

Former European champions Hamburg were relegated from the Bundesliga for the first time on Saturday.

Trouble flares as Hamburg are relegated from the Bundesliga
Image: Trouble flared as Hamburg were relegated from the Bundesliga

Hamburg, the only team with an uninterrupted Bundesliga run since the league's creation in 1963, left their distraught fans in tears as their stadium clock showing 54 years and 260 days in the top division now needs to be reset, despite a 2-1 win over Borussia Monchengladbach.

The northern club, whose game was interrupted for 15 minutes by fans throwing flares on to the pitch near the end, finished second-bottom on 31 points, two behind VfL Wolfsburg, who beat Cologne 4-1 and face second-tier Holstein Kiel in a relegation playoff.

Also See:

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 next 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.

Fantasy Head to Head
Fantasy Head to Head

Challenge a mate in our brand new Fantasy Football head-to-head mode. Play for free!

Around Sky