Kane hits hat-trick, St. Pauli are relegated from Bundesliga / Photo: © AFP
Kane hits hat-trick, St. Pauli are relegated from Bundesliga
Forward Harry Kane scored a hat-trick as Bayern Munich celebrated their 35th German title on a gripping final day of the Bundesliga season on Saturday with a 5-1 win over Cologne.
Stuttgart secured Champions League qualification and St. Pauli and Heidenheim were relegated elsewhere on an action-packed final matchday.
England's Kane scored an elegant volley and a direct free-kick in the first half before rounding off his fourth hat-trick of the season, ending as the league’s top scorer with 36 goals.
At the other end of the table, Wolfsburg won a dramatic, three-way fight with St. Pauli and Heidenheim to avoid automatic relegation.
The bottom three all began the day on equal points, but Wolfsburg's pulse-racing 3-1 win over St. Pauli meant they secured the all-important relegation play-off place in 16th.
St. Pauli goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj kept Wolfsburg at bay with some smart saves in the first half before Konstantinos Koulierakis headed the visitors in front from a corner.
Half-time substitute Abdoulie Ceesay gave St. Pauli hope with a header on 57 minutes, but tempers flared after Wolfsburg restored the lead in controversial circumstances.
Vasilj claimed he had been pushed after deflecting the ball into his own net at a corner, but the goal was given after a nail-biting VAR check.
Christian Eriksen missed a penalty for Wolfsburg 15 minutes from time, but Dezan Pejcinovic sealed St. Pauli’s fate with a cool finish shortly afterwards.
- Wolfsburg not yet safe -
Wolfsburg will play one of Hannover, Elversberg or Paderborn in the play-off later this month, while St. Pauli return to the second tier after two years in the Bundesliga.
Heidenheim's three-year spell in the top flight also came to an end after their hopes of a dramatic last-day escape were dashed by a 2-0 defeat to Mainz.
Philipp Tietz headed Mainz in front early on before setting up Nadiem Amiri for the visitors' second just before half-time.
Stuttgart secured Champions League qualification with a 2-2 draw at Eintracht Frankfurt.
Goals from Chema and Nikolas Nartey put Stuttgart in control in the first half, before Jonathan Burkardt rescued an inconsequential point with two late penalties for Frankfurt.
The Europa League spots went to Hoffenheim and Bayer Leverkusen, while Freiburg secured seventh place and European qualification with a 4-1 win over RB Leipzig.
The Europa League finalists will either play in the Conference League or the Champions League next season, depending on whether they beat Aston Villa in Istanbul later this month.
P.Barry--TNT
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