Bundesliga Round 31 Results: Huntelaar hat-trick as Schalke push for fourth

GREUTHER FURTH 2-3 HANNOVER

Greuther Furth became the first side to be relegated from the 2012-13 Bundesliga after a 2-1 defeat at the Trolli Arena on Friday.

The Bavarians twice came from behind, with two goals from Nikola Djurdjic cancelling out efforts from Mohammed Abdellaoue and Andre Hoffmann.

But Sergio Pinto’s 87th minute strike sealed the points for the visitors and put Furth on the brink of a descent back into the 2. Bundesliga.

And this was confirmed when Hoffenheim and Augsburg’s victories on Saturday made it mathematically impossible for the Bundesliga debutants to extend their stay in the top flight for another season.

BAYER LEVERKUSEN 1-0 WERDER BREMEN

A lone Stefan Kiessling penalty was enough to give Bayer Leverkusen a narrow victory Werder Bremen at the BayArena on Saturday and a place in next season’s Champions League.

The 29-year-old forward struck his 22nd goal of the campaign from the spot shortly after half an hour after Sidney Sam was clearly impeded by Sebastian Mielitz inside the area.

The win sees third-placed Leverkusen wrap up a Champions League berth for next season, while they need only two points from their remaining three games to guarantee automatic entry into the competition.

Bremen meanwhile remain entrenched in the relegation dogfight, and are only two points above the drop zone.

HOFFENHEIM 2-1 NURNBERG

Two first-half goals was enough for relegation-threatened Hoffenheim to take a vital three points from Nurnberg in a 2-1 victory at the Rhein Neckar Arena on Saturday.

Tobias Weis’ close range finish and Sejad Salihovic’s header put the home side 2-0 up before the 20-minute mark, but Koen Casteels conceded a penalty just before the hour, allowing Timmy Simons to pull one back for the visitors.

However, there were no more goals forthcoming and Hoffenheim held on for the win, which puts them three points from safety with three games to go.

WOLFSBURG 3-1 BORUSSIA MONCHENGLADBACH

Gladbach’s Champions League hopes for next season were dealt a huge blow with a damaging 3-1 defeat to Wolfsburg at the Volkswagen Arena on Saturday.

Maximilian Arnold struck his third goal in as many games via a significant deflection off Roel Brouwers to open the scoring for the hosts, but Peniel Mlapa kept his cool to slot home the equaliser between Diego Bnaglio’s legs early in the second half.

The score did not stay level for long, however, as Ivica Olic finished from an angle, before teeing up Diego to round the keeper for the clinching goal late on.

Gladbach are now five points off the fourth and final Champions League berth with only nine points left to play for, while Wolfsburg have mathematically ensured their safety for another season.

AUGSBURG 3-0 STUTTGART

Augsburg secured a potentially priceless victory by brushing aside Stuttgart 3-0 at the SGL Arena.

The hosts seemed set to be frustrated after a tepid encounter saw no goals in the first half, but Sascha Molders headed in just after the hour mark to send palpable relief around the stadium.

It was a tense finale for Augsburg, who knew that one slip up could cost them a point and potentially a place in the Bundesliga next season, but Marcel de Jong’s long-range stunner with seven minutes remaining put paid to any hopes of a Stuttgart comeback.

Ji Dong-Won rounded off the victory by finishing off a counterattack in the 85th minute to put Augsburg back into 17th place, only a point from escaping the drop zone, while Stuttgart stay 12th.

MAINZ 0-0 EINTRACHT FRANKFURT

Frankfurt missed out on a golden opportunity to stake a claim for a Champions League place with a 0-0 draw against Mainz at the Coface Arena on Sunday.

Sebastian Rode’s tame effort at the end of a promising break was about the best on offer from both sides in a dull and uninspiring contest that does little for either team’s European hopes for next season.

Frankfurt sit three points behind Schalke and fourth place, while Mainz have only three games to make up a five-point gap on the final Europa League spot.

SCHALKE 4-1 HAMBURG

Schalke moved ever closer to wrapping up fourth place with a convincing 4-1 thrashing of Hamburg at the Veltins Arena on Sunday afternoon.

Things did not seem to be going to plan for the hosts when Marcel Jansen headed Hamburg into a fifth-minute lead but Michel Bastos was on hand to confidently restore parity only five minutes later.

Then Klaas-Jan Huntelaar took over. The striker who had set up Bastos’ equaliser, latched onto Julian Draxler’s feed to tap in the go-ahead goal in the 21st minute.

The Dutchman’s diving header just before the hour put the hosts even further in front, before he used his head once again to round off his personal treble only eight minutes later.

Schalke are now three points clear of Frankfurt for the final Champions League place, but have little hope of catching Leverkusen in third for automatic entry into the competition.

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