Union Berlin wins CL ticket, Leverkusen escapes and Schalke 04 is relegated


Saturday, May 27, 2023 at 5:28 PM• Jonathan van Haaster • Last update: 17:53

The Union Berlin of Sheraldo Becker and Danilho Doekhi has qualified for the Champions League. The capitals could not find the net for a long time against Werder Bremen and were virtually fifth due to SC Freiburg’s lead (which eventually lost 2-1), but ten minutes before the end Rani Khedira took care of the redeeming: 1-0. Due to the failure of VfL Wolfsburg (1-2 defeat against Hertha BSC), Bayer Leverkusen still goes to the Conference League, despite a 3-0 defeat at VfL Bochum. Schalke 04 is relegated from the Bundesliga, while VfB Stuttgart came no further than a draw (1-1) against TSG Hoffenheim and therefore has to enter the playoffs.

Union Berlin – Werder Bremen 1-0
The game started promisingly for Union, who were awarded a penalty after ten minutes of play after a foul by Lee Buchanan on Janik Haberer. However, referee Patrick Ittrich decided to withdraw the penalty after seeing the images. The really big chances didn’t come before the break. Jérôme Roussillon did show himself with a dangerous shot, while Maximilian Philipp on behalf of Bremen should have done more with his chance around the penalty spot. Shortly after the break, Roussillon tried again, this time Bremen goalie Jirí Pavlenka made a good save.

Becker, who was in the base just like Doekhi, saw a goal rejected for offside minutes later. Union now knew that Freiburg had taken the lead and therefore had to go for full profit. However, it was not easy for Doekhi (header blocked) and Becker (shot wide). Ten minutes before the end, the goal for Union was still there. Sven Michel gave in to Khedira, who shot in from the inside of the post: 1-0.

Eintracht Frankfurt – SC Freiburg 2-1
Freiburg started the important away game against Eintracht Frankfurt with Mark Flek in the starting line-up. The Dutch goalkeeper played his last game for the Bundesliga club on Saturday, as he will continue his career at Brentford. The closing post saw his team take the lead just before half-time. Tuta headed through Roland Sallai’s cross, after which Vicenzo Grifo headed home at the far post: 0-1. In the final phase, the home team still managed to turn the game around completely. Randal Kolo Muani headed first, after which Junior Dina Ebimbe made it 2-1 from close range in the 91st minute.

VfL Wolfsburg – Hertha BSC 1-2
Wolfsburg, with Mickey van de Ven in the starting line-up, knew it had to win to keep a chance at sixth place. Trainer Niko Kovac saw his team start stormy and within two minutes it was hit. Yannick Gerhardt had a nice pass with his heel on Jakub Kaminski, who convincingly hit behind Hertha goalkeeper Tjark Ernst: 1-0. Wolfsburg had enough opportunities to double the score before the break, but Kaminski (rescue Ernst), Jonas Wind (shot wide) and Felix Nmecha (ball cleared from the line) lacked the necessary fortune.

Shortly after the break, Ridle Baku killed a good chance and that turned out to be an expensive miss. Lucas Tousart pushed through on the right and gave Ibrahim Maza an unmissable chance: 1-1. Things went from bad to worse for Wolfsburg. Marco Richter got a free shooting chance and left Koen Casteels without a chance: 1-2.

VfL Bochum – Bayer Leverkusen 3-0
Bochum was quickly in the game and was also given a good helping hand by Amine Adli. The midfielder dealt a kick to an opponent and had to leave with a direct red card. Not much later, Bochum managed to take full advantage of the surplus situation. A cross from the right by Takuma Asano could be shot in by Philipp Forster: 1-0.

Fifteen minutes after the opening goal, Asano himself was the center of attention. The Japanese shot in convincingly from a corner kick by Kevin Stöger: 2-0. Fifteen minutes after the break, Jeremie Frimpong distinguished himself with an excellent shot, which unfortunately ended up on the post for the Dutchman. The game went off the rails somewhat with six (!) yellow cards in ten minutes. Leverkusen was also unable to turn the tide in the final phase. In fact, Bochum made it 3-0 in the end via Stöger. As a result, Thomas Letsch’s team maintains itself in an extremely clever way.

RB Leipzig – Schalke 04 4-2
Schalke had to draw at least a draw to at least have a chance of retention, but the team from Gelsenkirchen started dramatically. Leipzig, already certain of third place, was already leading 2-0 after twenty minutes. First Konrad Laimer tapped in the 1-0 from the rebound, moments later Christopher Nkunku doubled the score after a combination with Dani Olmo and an excellent action.

Marcin Kaminski, however, brought the tension back after half an hour by heading in a corner: 2-1. Shortly after the break it became 2-2: Leipzig lost the ball after good pressure from Schalke, Marius Bülter hit the post and the unfortunate Willi Orbán then unluckily tapped the ball over his own goal line. Eight minutes before the end, however, Yussuf Poulsen made it 3-2 from a counter. Nkunku made it 4-2 in the final phase, relegating Schalke to the Second Bundesliga again.

VfB Stuttgart – TSG Hoffenheim 1-1
Stuttgart and Hoffenheim kept each other in check in the first half. Both teams regularly came out threatening, but the right man was often just not found. In addition, the goalkeepers of both teams were ready. Just before the break, Stuttgart still had a good opportunity to open the score. However, Serhou Guirassy shot just wide in a promising position. Stuttgart also had some good opportunities after the break.

For example, Tiago Tomas encountered Hoffenheim keeper Oliver Baumann and the same Tomas shot against the post fifteen minutes before the end. It turned out to be an expensive miss, because a minute later Ihlas Bebou made it 0-1 on a pass from Angeliño. It was not easy for Stuttgart, because moments later Enzo Millot hit the crossbar. Stuttgart rewarded itself ten minutes before the end and this time Tomas could cheer: 1-1. However, the winning was no longer possible, so the team awaits the playoffs.

Other results:
Borussia Monchengladbach – FC Augsburg 2-0

No. Team m W G v +/- Pnt
1 Bayern Munich 34 21 8 5 54 71
2 Borussia Dortmund 34 22 5 7 39 71
3 RB Leipzig 34 20 6 8 23 66
4 1. FC Union Berlin 34 18 8 8 13 62
5 SC Freiburg 34 17 8 9 7 59
6 Bayer Leverkusen 34 14 8 12 8 50
7 Eintracht Frankfurt 34 13 11 10 6 50
8 VfL Wolfsburg 34 13 10 11 9 49
9 FSV Mainz 05 34 12 10 12 -1 46
10 Borussia Monchengladbach 34 11 10 13 -3 43
11 1. FC Cologne 34 10 12 12 -5 42
12 TSG Hoffenheim 34 10 6 18 -9 36
13 Werder Bremen 34 10 6 18 -13 36
14 VfL Bochum 34 10 5 19 -32 35
15 FC Augsburg 34 9 7 18 -21 34
16 VfB Stuttgart 34 7 12 15 -12 33
17 Schalke 04 34 7 10 17 -36 31
18 Hertha BSC 34 7 8 19 -27 29