Bundesliga Review: Eintracht Frankfurt Relegated On Final Matchday

The final day of matches in the 2010-2011 German Bundesliga came to an end in excruciating fashion for the supporters of Eintracht Frankfurt and pure joy for the Wolfsburg supporters.

Saturday, May 14

Bayern München vs. Stuttgart

Bayern entered the final matchday knowing that their only shot at second place and the automatic Champions League place was with a win and a Bayer Leverkusen loss. Things would start very bright for Bayern. Miroslav Klose would get the best opportunity, but he would miss from three yards out. It was quite possibly the miss of the season. Stuttgart had other ideas however, and Shinji Okazaki scored in the 24th minute to silence the Allianz Arena and give the visitors an early lead. Minutes later Christian Träsch would bring a great save out of Bayern keeper Jörg Butt. Mario Gomez would bag his league leading 28th in the 37th minute and midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger would get the game winner in the 71st minute making the final 2-1. München would have to settle for third place at the end of the day.

Borussia Dortmund vs. Frankfurt

Frankfurt needed a win and some help in order to avoid relegation to the 2.Bundesliga when they kicked off against the champions. They could not have asked for a worse start. Benjamin Köhler fouled Jakub Błaszczykowski giving up a penalty in the 12th minute. Ralf Fährmann would save the attempt by Lucas Barrios keeping the score level. Dortmund would dominate the first half and miss several opportunities to take the lead. They would be made to pay in the 46th minute when Sebastian Rode headed home a cross by Halil Altintop that was headed on by Theofanis Gekas. Dortmund continued to press and were rewarded in the 68th and 72nd minutes with a goal by Barrios and and own goal by Marco Russ. Dortmund would be awarded another penalty in the 81st minute, but Dede would see his attempt saved by Fährmann. Barrios would put the rubber stamp on Frankfurt's relegation with a goal in stoppage time to cap a 3-1 victory for Dortmund.

Hamburg vs. Borussia Mönchengladbach

Juan Arango would score just before the half on a free kick when Hamburg goalkeeper Frank Rost went the wrong direction. 'Gladbach would see their lead disappear in the 71st minute when Ruud van Nistelrooy, making his last appearance for Hamburg, attempted to lob Marc-André ter Stegen in the 'Gladbach goal. Dante would make a great save on the goal line only to see Änis Ben-Hatira bang it home in the 71st minute. All is not lost for 'Gladbach with the draw. They have qualified for the Relegation Playoff where they will play a two legged affair with VfL Bochum.

Mainz 05 vs. St. Pauli

After their embarrassing defeat last week in Holgar Stanislawski's final home match in charge of St. Pauli, the players came out this week determined to put in a solid performance on the road at Mainz. The hard work would pay off as just before halftime Matthias Lehmann would score for St. Pauli to give them a 1-0 halftime lead. Mainz would get goals from Andre Schürrle and Sami Allagui in the second half to comeback and avoid their eighth home loss of the season. The loss was meaningless for St. Pauli as they were already relegated back down to the 2.Bundesliga.

Hoffenheim vs. Wolfsburg

The day for Wolfsburg really could not have started any worse. In the team meeting before they had even left the hotel, Diego decided that not being in the starting lineup was enough of an insult to walk out on his team. Wolfsburg came out strong in the first half challenging the Hoffenheim defense through Brazilian striker Grafite. The best attempt for either side in the first half would be wasted as Grafite put it right into the legs of Hoffenheim goalkeeper Tom Starke. In the locker room at halftime, word would get to the Wolfsburg players that 'Gladbach was beating Hamburg 1-0 at the half. This meant that Wolfsburg would be in the Relegation Playoff unless things changed. Desperation would strike when Hoffenheim forward Roberto Firmino scored in the 49th minute. Wolfsburg would continue to push for goals, and they would be rewarded by Mario Mandžukić who bagged two goals in the 60th and 73rd minute. Grafite would cap off the comeback in the 78th minute to keep Wolfsburg safe in the Bundesliga for another season.

Köln vs. Schalke 04

In their last match before their DFB Pokal Final against Duisburg this coming Saturday, Schalke's performance was a major let down. Milivoje Novakovic got a goal to put the home side up in the 25th minute. Schalke manager Ralf Rangnick had seen enough after only 34 minutes. He substituted Klaas Jan Huntelaar and Julian Draxler on for Edu and Alexander Baumjohann. Mato Jajalo would add another goal for the home side halfway through the second half. Raul would grab a late consolation goal for Schalke. It's a disappointing performance for Schalke a week before the cup final.

Freiburg vs. Bayer Leverkusen

Bayer won 1-0 on a header by Hanno Balitsch just before the half. With the victory, Leverkusen are guaranteed to be in the group stages of next years UEFA Champions League.

Hannover 96 vs. Nürnberg

Hannover would rebound to score three unanswered goals to defeat Nürnberg and maintain their third position in the table.

Kaiserslautern vs. Werder Bremen

Kaiserslautern wasted no time getting to work in front of the home fans getting goals in the 7th and 9th minutes thanks to headers from Adam Nemec and Rodnei. Srdjan Lakic would score in the 30th minute to make the score 3-0 in favor of Kaiserslautern! Bremen captain Torsten Frings, in his last match for the club, would score just before the half to give his club some hope. Clemens Fritz would get hauled down in the Kaiserslautern penalty area in the 52nd minute, and Frings would step up to try to make it 2-3. His attempt on goal was not very good, and it was saved by Kevin Trapp. Just three minutes later Marko Arnautovic would get a goal to make it 2-3. Kaiserslautern would hold on for the win. With the victory, the finished a remarkable 7th in their first season back in the Bundesliga.