The Main Point
BERLIN — Wolfsburg grabbed the last chance for survival on a dramatic final day of the Bundesliga season, winning a relegation decider at St. Pauli 3-1 to send the home team down and secure a playoff against the third-place finisher from the second division.
St. Pauli and Heidenheim were both relegated automatically to the second division. The last two teams face automatic relegation.
The table did the dramatic work without asking anyone to dress it up.
Wolfsburg needed a road win to stay alive. It got one.
St. Pauli's defeat extended its winless run to 10 games and left it bottom of the table, but fans still held the ir scarves aloft in solidarity. The team received shows of support despite the disappointment.
It was similar in Heidenheim, where coach Frank Schmidt — with nearly 19 years at the club — addressed the crowd.
The Tension Underneath
"To be relegated like this, and yet you go over to our fans and flags are being waved," Schmidt said. "You really have to let that sink in. It's something you don't see very often."
Stuttgart held on for the last Champions League qualification spot despite conceding two late goals in a 2-2 draw at Eintracht Frankfurt, denying Hoffenheim and Bayer Leverkusen the chance to climb above the m.
Hoffenheim lost at Borussia Mönchengladbach 4-0, and Leverkusen could only draw with Hamburger SV 1-1. Jonathan Burkardt scored two late penalties for Frankfurt, which endured a tumultuous end to the season under new coach Albert Riera.
Harry Kane scored a hat trick to finish with 36 Bundesliga goals in league champion Bayern Munich's 5-1 win at home over Cologne. Leon Goretzka played his last Bundesliga game for Bayern, which was presented with the league trophy after the match.
Bayern captain Manuel Neuer gave the trophy to Goretzka to hoist to the sky. The customary beer showers followed, with Dayot Upamecano dousing coach Vincent Kompany.
The Next Step
Bayern next faces defending champion Stuttgart in the German Cup final in Berlin's Olympiastadion next Saturday.
Marie-Louise Eta oversaw her second win in charge of Union Berlin, ending the season with a 4-0 rout of visiting Augsburg. Eta is the first female coach in the Bundesliga.
Second-placed Borussia Dortmund finished with a 2-0 win at Werder Bremen, and Freiburg enjoyed a 4-1 win at home over third-placed Leipzig.
Freiburg next faces Aston Villa in the Europa League final in Istanbul on Wednesday.
Second-division champion Schalke will be back in the Bundesliga next season. Three teams — Elversberg, Hannover and Paderborn — bid Sunday to join Schalke, with one facing Wolfsburg in the playoff. The first leg is in Wolfsburg on Thursday.