BERLIN: Champions Bayern Munich ended their three-match losing streak in the Bundesliga with a season-ending 2-0 win over Mainz on Saturday as Hamburg and Stuttgart avoided relegation.
A Robert Lewandowski penalty and Bastian Schweinsteiger goal saw Bayern bounce back after defeats by Leverkusen, Augsburg and Freiburg since their 25th German league title was confirmed at the end of April.
Poland striker Lewandowski converted a 25th minute penalty after a handball by Mainz defender Nico Bungert.
Germany captain Bastian Schweinsteiger scored their second just after the break to secure the win to kick-off celebrations in Munich as Pep Guardiola’s side was presented with the trophy at the Allianz Arena.
At the other end of the table, Freiburg and Paderborn went down as the relegation battle went to the wire. Freiburg’s 2-1 defeat at Hanover 96 saw them drop to 17th and out of the league while Paderborn also return to the second division after one season in the Bundesliga with a 2-1 defeat at home to Stuttgart.
VfB Stuttgart stayed in the Bundesliga thanks to Daniel Ginczek’s winning goal for the visitors.
Hamburg’s 2-0 win at home to Schalke means they finish 16th thanks to goals by Ivica Olic and Slobodan Rajkovic.
It means for the second year in succession, Hamburg face a two-legged relegation play-off against the side which finishes third in the second division, which will be decided on Sunday.
Roberto di Matteo’s Schalke finish sixth despite a poor end to the season which saw the Royal Blues win just two of their last ten games to miss out on a Champions League place next season.
Augsburg’s 2-1 win at Borussia Moenchengladbach saw them finish fifth to join Schalke in the Europa League for next season.
Borussia Dortmund enjoyed a 3-2 win at home to Werder Bremen on Jurgen Klopp’s final home game after seven years in charge amidst emotional scenes at the Westfalenstadion.
Dortmund finish seventh, but can still claim a Europa League place under in-coming coach Thomas Tuchel depending on the out-come of next Saturday’s German Cup final against Wolfsburg. Japan midfielder Shinji Kagawa profited from a superb pass by Ilkay Gundogan to score Dortmund’s first on 15 minutes.
Gabon striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored the hosts second just two minutes later before Bremen pulled a goal back through midfielder Levin Oztunali on 26 minutes.
But Dortmund made sure of the win when Henrikh Mkhitaryan controlled Kagawa’s high pass to lob Bremen goalkeeper Koen Casteels just before the break while Czech defender Theodor Gebre Selassie scored Bremen’s late second to set up a tense finale.
Hertha Berlin finish just above the relegation places after their 2-1 defeat at Hoffenheim while Wolfsburg finished second with a 2-2 draw at Cologne.
Bayer Leverkusen finish fourth despite a 2-1 defeat Eintracht Frankfurt as Karim Bellarabi’s early goal was cancelled out by goals from Eintracht pair Haris Seferovic and Alexander Madlung. (AFP)
