Berlin: Former champions VfB Stuttgart were relegated from the Bundesliga for the first time in 41 years after losing 3-1 at VfL Wolfsburg in the top-flight season finale yesterday.
Werder Bremen staged a last-gasp escape with Papy Djilobodji’s 88th-minute strike giving them a 1-0 win over visiting relegation rivals Eintracht Frankfurt.
While Werder kept their place in the Bundesliga, their opponents go into a playoff against Nuremberg, who finished third in the second division.
Stuttgart, who needed a win to have a chance at earning the playoff place, quickly fell two goals behind in the first half as one of the Bundesliga’s founding clubs faced their second relegation after 1975.
Daniel Didavi’s 78th-minute goal gave them a glimmer of hope but Andre Schuerrle sealed Wolfsburg’s win in the final minute with his second goal of the game.
The 2007 Bundesliga champions ended up with the worst ever defensive Bundesliga record, having let in 75 goals and having also scored a record seven own goals in the process.
“It is an extremely bitter and sad day for the club,” said Stuttgart coach Juergen Kramny, who took over from Alexander Zorniger in November.
“The relegation hits us very hard. We will now need some time to process all of this. We had enough chances in the past weeks to get points but failed to do so.”