Stuttgart relegated, Werder Bremen ensure dramatic safety in Bundesliga

Stuttgart, who needed a win to have a chance at earning the playoff place, fell two goals behind in the first half to lose any hopes.

Stuttgart drop down from the top division after 41 years at the top. (Source: AP)

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

Werder Bremen needed an 88th-minute goal by Papy Djilobodji to beat visiting relegation rivals Eintracht Frankfurt 1-0 and 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. Daniel Didavi’s 78th-minute goal gave them a glimmer of hope but Andre Schuerrle sealed Wolfsburg’s win in the final minute.

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.

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.