Matchday 33 saw several positions settled. Bayern München are going to the Champion’s League, Hannover 96 and Mainz 05 are going to the Europa League, and St. Pauli will be going back down to the 2.Bundesliga.
Bundesliga Review: Gomez Hat Trick Powers Bayern, St. Pauli Relegated
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Saturday, May 7
Schalke 04 1 - 3 Mainz 05
Things got off to a slow start at the Veltins-Arena as Mainz were afraid to make a mistake and slip in their quest for Europe. Schalke showed tired legs after their midweek trip to Manchester. Schalke would strike first just after the restart with Klaas-Jan Huntelaar deflecting in a corner. The lead would last only moments as Andre Schürrle would score a controversial offside goal. Lewis Holtby and Nikolce Noveski would add goals in the 82nd and 85th minutes to take the lead for good. With the victory, Mainz has secured Europa League action for next season.
Werder Bremen 2 - 0 Borussia Dortmund
Bremen guarantee themselves safety and another go in the Bundesliga next season after defeating the newly crowned champions. Dortmund could have set the league record with their 12th away win of the season had they won, and they won’t get another opportunity as next week is at home. Bremen got off to an excellent start in only the 5th minute. Mikael Silvestre’s in-swinging corner was only punch away by Roman Weidenfeller. The ball would end up back at the feet of Silvestre who would blast the ball through the scrum in front of the goal and into the net. Marko Marin would consistently give the Dortmund back line fits all match long. In the 63rd minute, Claudio Pizarro would dribble across the top of the box before slotting a low shot past Weidenfeller to give the home side a 2-0 victory.
Bayer Leverkusen 1 - 1 Hamburg
Heiko Westermann scored in the 2nd minute to give Hamburg an early lead. René Adler deflected a Paulo Guerrero header, and the Hamburg captain was able to tap in the rebound. Stefan Kießling thought he equalized for the home side in the 21st minute, only to see his goal waved off by the assistant referee's flag for offside. Kießling would bring joy to the BayArena with an equalizer in the 55th minute. Hamburg would continue to attack and were unlucky to not come away with all three points. Adler made several great saves to maintain one point for the home side. Leverkusen now sit only three points ahead of Bayern for second place.
Stuttgart 2 - 1 Hannover 96
Stuttgart wins to guarantee their survival in the Bundesliga next season and keeps Hannover from qualifying for the Champion's League. Stuttgart would keep Hannover contained mostly to their own half of the field for the first 45 minutes. Tamás Hajnal would put Stuttgart ahead in the 58th minute, and Shinji Okazaki would tally his first ever Bundesliga goal three minutes later. Lars Stindl would get Hannover on the board in the 66th minute, but they wouldn't get close again. While the loss eliminates Champion's League play for Hannover, they do qualify for Europa League for their efforts this year.
Wolfsburg 1 - 2 Kaiserslautern
Wolfsburg got off to a brilliant start at home as Mario Mandžukić would score on a deflected Diego shot. Wolfsburg would dominate the next fifteen minutes bringing several excellent saves from Kaiserslautern’s Kevin Trapp. The visitors would get their feet under them, and in the 25th minute captain Srđan Lakić would bang in a beautiful header on Kaiserslautern’s first real chance of the match. Just before halftime Martin Amedick would put away a free kick to give Kaiserslautern the lead. Wolfsburg would dominate the second half, but they were unable to put the ball past Trapp. They now sit just out of the relegation playoff spot via goal differential.
Frankfurt 0 - 2 Köln
The massive victory by Köln saw Frankfurt slip into the automatic relegation position for the first time. With the victory Köln have pulled themselves completely to safety. Adil Chihi would put the visitors up in the first half with a superb header. Frankfurt began to play with nerves giving up the ball in areas of the field where they should've been under control. Frankfurt would push for the equalizer, but Köln always looked the more dangerous side on the counter. Lukas Podolski would earn a penalty in stoppage time, and put it away.
Borussia Mönchengladbach 2 - 0 Freiburg
The great escape continues for Mönchengladbach. Against all of the odds, they’ve made it out of the automatic relegation positions. Papiss Demba Cissé would threaten the ‘Gladbach backline all match long, but Dante would come up big in every challenge with the Freiburg man from getting a good look at goal. ‘Gladbach ends the day in the relegation playoff spot, but even on points with the side ahead of them. They’ll travel to Hamburg next week with a victory and survival on their mind.
Nürnberg 1 - 2 Hoffenheim
Nürnberg saw all hopes of European football next year disappear with a disappointing 2-1 loss against Hoffenheim. They got off to a very bright start in the 16th minute as Philipp Wollscheid would get a boot on a free kick that would deflect off of the back of Hoffenheim defender Isaac Vorsah that ended up in the back of the net. Hoffenheim would strike just before the half as Roberto Firmino headed in a free kick. The match appeared destined for a draw, but Gylfi Sigurdsson would snag a goal in the 87th minute to take all the spoils. Nürnberg had a brilliant campaign, and they'll look forward to build on this finish for next season.
St. Pauli 1 - 8 Bayern München
A dominant performance saw Bayern secure Champions League action for next year and saw St. Pauli officially relegated to the 2.Bundesliga. Mario Gómez (3), Arjen Robben (2), Franck Ribéry (2), and Daniel van Buyten tallied goals for Bayern. St. Pauli was up against the wall early with Gomez's first goal coming in the 10th minute. They looked like they were just going to score at will, and they would at the end of the game getting goals in the 84th, 86th, and 88th minute. The emotional presentations at the beginning of the game for Holgar Stanislawski's last match in charge of St. Pauli in front of the home supporters will be remembered. He is adored in that stadium, and it's unfortunate that their last performance under him there was so embarrassing. St. Pauli are the first team officially relegated this season to the 2.Bundesliga.
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