Bundesliga: Bielefeld survive, Bremen relegated

Stuttgart 0-2 Arminia Bielefeld, Mercedes-Benz-Arena
(Klos pen. 66', Doan 72')

Fabian Klos produced a captain’s performance to keep Arminia Bielefeld in the Bundesliga for another season, keeping his cool from the penalty spot to score the first of Arminia’s two goals against Stuttgart, with the three points keeping them safe.

After 11 years away from the top flight, Bielefeld secure themselves a second consecutive season among Germany's elite. Klos has been at the club for 10 of those years and his tears at full time demonstrated just how much this means to a club who have been to hell and back in the last decade. It was the most crucial goal of Klos' career. 

Bielefeld were organized, resolute and took their chances when they came in Stuttgart, a team Arminia have beaten twice this season. The victory was rubber-stamped in the 72nd minute, when Ritsu Doan’s mazy run and low finish put the result beyond doubt.

While the decision to fire coach Uwe Neuhaus on March 1 was widely derided, his replacement Frank Kramer has stepped into the role and in recent weeks has made them harder to beat, more consistent and ultimately got them over the line.

Sound of silence for Bremen

Werder Bremen 2-4 Borussia Mönchengladbach, Weserstadion
(Rashica 80', Füllkrug 83' — Stindl 3', Thuram 52', Bensebaini 58', Neuhaus 67')

In Bremen, the atmosphere couldn’t have been more different. There were tears, but unlike Klos’, they weren’t tears of joy. Bremen’s 2-4 home defeat by Borussia Mönchengladbach was the final nail in the coffin for a team whose decline has been steep in recent months.

Bremen haven’t won a league game since March 10, losing 10 of their 11 games since. That shocking run of form saw them get dragged into the relegation fight and cost coach Florian Kohfeldt his job on the eve of this make-or-break game for the club. Club hero Thomas Schaaf was unable to work a miracle on the final day, though.

After surviving last season via the relegation playoff, the outlook had been a lot brighter for Bremen for much of this season. But they met a Gladbach team who simply had too much for them, and the damage was already done before Milot Rashica and Niclas Füllkrug made the result a little more respectable. Incidentally, the win wasn't enough for Gladbach to secure a European spot — that honor goes to Union Berlin, who ended an impressive season with an eye-catching 2-1 victory over RB Leipzig.

Bremen, four-time Bundesliga champions and the club with more top-flight seasons in German football than any other, will take their place in the second flight next season in a Bundesliga 2 that will be the unfamiliar home to a few of the biggest clubs in German football.

The sound of silence around the stadium said it all: this is a club whose second-ever relegation has come as a shock.

Cologne fight another day

Cologne 1-0 Schalke, RheinEnergieStadion
(Bornauw 86')

Cologne proved the jokers in the pack, keeping their hopes of survival alive with a late winner against Schalke that was also the death knell for Bremen.

Despite having fielded 41 different players and burned through five different coaches this season, Schalke made life difficult for a tense and anxious Cologne.

But the Carneval city club had thousands of fans assembled outside and that raucous support would have filtered through into the empty stadium in front of them.

Cologne thought they’d got the goal they needed when Sebastian Andersson poked the ball in at the far post, only for VAR to rule the goal out for offside.

But Cologne kept the faith, piling forward at every opportunity, and their moment finally came with four minutes of normal time to play, with Sebastiaan Bornauw's towering header from Jan Thielmann’s cross finally breaking Schalke’s resistance.

It was a goal that doesn’t secure Cologne’s safety yet, but keeps them alive for another day. For them, the relegation playoff awaits — and they’ll take that.