Werder Bremen extended their 39-year stay in the Bundesliga for at least another 10 days on Saturday, when they thumped FC Köln 6-1 to avoid automatic relegation.
The four-times Bundesliga champions completed the first half of what could become a great escape as they climbed out of the drop zone and leapfrogged Fortuna Duesseldorf to finish 16th in the 18-team table.
They now face a two-leg playoff against the team that finishes third in the second division - either VfB Stuttgart, Heidenheim or Hamburg SV - on July 2nd and 6th. Fortuna lost 3-0 at Union and were relegated.
Elsewhere Andrej Kramaric became the first Hoffenheim player to score four goals in a Bundesliga game, overwhelming Borussia Dortmund with a one-sided 4-0 away victory on Saturday.
The Croatian striker, his club’s top scorer this season, took his campaign tally to 13 as Europa League-bound Hoffenheim moved above VfL Wolfsburg to finish in fifth place on 52 points.
Dortmund were already confirmed as runners-up to Bayern Munich, but after this embarrassing home defeat finished 13 points adrift of the champions.
Bayern Munich, already crowned Bundesliga champions last week, lifted the league trophy in an empty stadium on Saturday after crushing hosts VfL Wolfsburg 4-0 on the final matchday.
The Bavarians, who have matched a club record of 25 matches in all competitions without defeat and are unbeaten in the Bundesliga in 2020, went ahead in the fourth minute with Kingsley Coman netting from Thomas Mueller’s 21st assist, a league record.
With no families, fans or friends in the stands to share their joy, the Bayern players were left to celebrate lifting the sparkling trophy with a handful of club bosses in the stands.
Borussia Moenchengladbach capped a successful season by booking a spot in the Champions League, beating Hertha Berlin 2-1 on the final day to finish fourth in the Bundesliga.
Gladbach, who had leapfrogged Bayer Leverkusen into fourth place last week, finished on 65 points, two ahead of Leverkusen.
German striker Timo Werner marked his RB Leipzig swansong with two well-taken goals to guide his side to a 2-1 victory at Augsburg.
The result means Leipzig end the season in third place with 66 points, one shy of their record Bundesliga tally achieved in 2016-17, while Augsburg finish in 15th with 36 points, five clear of the relegation zone.
