Dortmund condemn Eintracht to the drop
Saturday, May 14, 2011
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Champions Borussia Dortmund finished with a 3-1 victory against Eintracht Frankfurt which consigned their guests to relegation on the final day of the Bundesliga campaign.
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Titleholders Borussia Dortmund signed off with a 3-1 home win, with runners-up Bayer 04 Leverkusen and third-placed FC Bayern München also taking three points on the final day of Bundesliga action.
Lucas Barrios and Dedê had penalties saved for Dortmund, and their championship celebrations looked set to go awry after Sebastian Rode gave Eintracht Frankfurt the lead. Yet Barrios atoned for his early miss with strikes either side of a Marco Russ own goal and the dismissal of visiting midfielder Marcel Titsch-Rivero. Defeat means Eintracht are relegated along with FC St Pauli.
Leverkusen – who like Dortmund will play in next season's UEFA Champions League group stage − had a less dramatic afternoon, Hanno Balitsch scoring the only goal in their win at SC Freiburg. Mario Gomez and Bastian Schweinsteiger earned Bayern three points after they had trailed to Shinji Okazaki's opener at home to VfB Stuttgart.
Hannover 96 held on to fourth place by virtue of a 3-1 win against 1. FC Nürnberg while 1. FSV Mainz 05 finished fifth after a 2-1 victory against rock-bottom St Pauli. Both Hannover and Mainz have earned a place in next season's UEFA Europa League.
With VfL Wolfsburg prevailing 3-1 over TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, a 1-1 draw against Hamburger SV condemned VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach to a relegation play-off against the side that finishes third in Germany's second tier.
Elsewhere, 1. FC Kaiserslautern went into the summer on a high thanks to a 3-2 win against SV Werder Bremen while a Raúl González goal could not spare FC Schalke 04 from a 2-1 defeat by 1. FC Köln. The Gelsenkirchen side could yet qualify for Europe, though, as they take on MSV Duisburg in next weekend's German Cup final.
