Hamburg SV relegated from Bundesliga for first time, Bayern Munich stunned

Hamburger SV was finally relegated from the Bundesliga amid chaotic scenes on Saturday while Bayern Munich slumped to a shocking 1-4 defeat to Vfb Stuttgart.

football Updated: May 12, 2018 21:35 IST
Hamburg SV was relegated for the first time after VfL Wolfsburg’s 4-1 win over bottom club FC Cologne. (REUTERS)

Former European champions Hamburg SV were relegated for the first time on Saturday, with their fans throwing flares onto the pitch as their team’s record uninterrupted top-flight run since the Bundesliga began in 1963 came to a controversial end.

VfL Wolfsburg’s 4-1 win over bottom club Cologne meant Hamburg’s 2-1 home victory over Borussia Moenchengladbach, which was interrupted for 15 minutes due to the crowd trouble in stoppage time, was rendered meaningless.

Hamburg will join Cologne in the second division next season, while Wolfsburg go into a relegation playoff.

Dozens of riot police, several on horses, charged onto the pitch and lined up in front of the Hamburg fans, who lit several flares and threw them behind the Gladbach goal when it became clear that the team was on its way to the second division.

Hamburg SV players look dejected as they leave the pitch at the end of the match. (REUTERS)

Hamburg were leading 2-1 in stoppage time when referee Felix Brych stopped the game.

The fires were put out and police gradually left the field so the game could resume and the final seconds be played out.

Hamburg had taken an early lead through Aaron Hunt and went in front again with a Lewis Holtby goal just past the hour after Gladbach had levelled the score before halftime.

Even when Hamburg went down to 10 men after the dismissal of Bobby Wood in the 71st minute, they kept battling, hoping for a miracle but events at Wolfsburg ensured it never came.

Bayern defeated

Bayern Munich finished the Bundesliga season with a shock 4-1 home defeat to Stuttgart, as the final league game of Jupp Heynckes’ second spell in charge ended in disappointment.

Bayern Munich's Thomas Mueller and team mates celebrate winning the Bundesliga trophy. (REUTERS)

The champions were blown away by the visitors’ slick counter-attack, as Anastasios Donis, Chadrac Akolo and a double from Daniel Ginczek ended their 38-match unbeaten run at home in the top flight.

The loss, only their fourth under Heynckes this season, somewhat soured the title celebrations at the Allianz Area, as Bayern got their hands on the trophy for the sixth season in a row while saying goodbye to their coach.

Heynckes – who will step down after the DFB-Pokal final – and former Bayern defender Holger Badstuber were given special tributes before kick-off, but Stuttgart looked determine to spoil the party and snatched the lead through Ginczek after only five minutes.

Corentin Tolisso equalised but Donis scored a brilliant second for Stuttgart just before half-time, and two goals in three minutes after the restart from Akolo and Ginczek again left the hosts stunned.