Bremen secures second; Nurnberg relegated

Werder Bremen clinched second place in the Bundesliga with a 1-0 win at the BayArena on Saturday which ended Bayer Leverkusen’s European dreams.

A goal from Markus Rosenberg in the 80th minute won it for Thomas Schaaf’s side, who beat Schalke to second place and a spot in the group stages of the Champions League next season.

Bayer was condemned to a seventh-place finish in the Bundesliga, which rules them out of even a place in the Intertoto Cup and left their fans calling for the head of coach Michael Skibbe. Schalke sealed Nurnberg’s relegation from the Bundesliga but was unable to secure second place despite their 2-0 victory. Marcelo Bordon struck twice (19 and 60) as the Royal Blues collected their fifth victory in six games to finish in third place and secure the final qualification spot for the Champions League. Bayern Munich collected the Bundesliga title in style after an emphatic 4-1 win over Hertha Berlin.

A hat trick from Luca Toni and a strike from Franck Ribery completed the rout for the German champions. Hamburg clinched a place in the UEFA Cup with a 7-0 hammering of Karlsruhe. Jose Paolo Guerrero scored a hat trick while Ivica Olic hit a brace and Piotr Trochowski and Rafael van der Vaart (penalty) were also on the scoresheet. Wolfsburg beat Borussia Dortmund 4-2 away to secure the final UEFA Cup spot. The visitors were two ahead within six minutes thanks to Sascha Riether and Marcelinho. Duisburg finished bottom of the table after losing, 4-2, at Eintracht Frankfurt. Already-relegated Hansa Rostock finished on a high by winning, 2-1, at Bochum. Arminia Bielefeld snatched a late 2-2 draw at Stuttgart to finish three points above the drop zone while the hosts missed out on a UEFA Cup berth.