BERLIN: 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 yesterday.
Jonas Hofmann tapped in after good work from Breel Embolo as Gladbach controlled the game throughout. By the 65th minute they had 17 shots compared to Hertha’s one.
The hosts also hit the woodwork twice before Embolo turned scorer from a Hofmann assist after he shook off two markers in the 78th.
Vedad Ibisevic cut the deficit in stoppage time but could not stop Marco Rose’s team from earning their third straight league win and booking their ticket for the hugely lucrative Champions League group stage for the first time since 2016.
Bayern Munich, already crowned champions last week, lifted the league trophy in an empty stadium after crushing hosts VfL Wolfsburg 4-0.
Fortuna Duesseldorf’s poor away form came back to haunt them as they were relegated after a final-day 3-0 defeat at in-form Union Berlin.
Werder ended up winning 6-1 to finish third from bottom with 31 points, while Duesseldorf ended on 30 and are automatically relegated along with SC Paderborn.
Four-time German champions Werder will face arch-rivals Hamburg or Heidenheim in a home-and-away playoff in a bid to avoid their first relegation from the top flight since 1980.