Braunschweig, FCN sent down

The Bundesliga race against relegation has been run at a snail's pace, and little changed on the final day. All three sides threatened with the drop lost their final games, meaning that Braunschweig and Nuremberg will play second-tier football next season. Despite not winning their own game, never-relegated Bundesliga "dinosaurs" Hamburg did win the chance at survival by qualifying for the relegation play-off.

Hamburg's traveling fans filled the away section in the Coface Arena in Mainz around an hour before kickoff, but it was the hosts who scored first. In the seventh minute, Heiko Westermann chested down a Zdenek Pospech cross vaguely into his keeper Rene Adler's path, only to put the ball on a platter for Elkin Soto.

HSV fired back within five minutes, courtesy of key striker Pierre-Michel Lasogga. Captain Rafael van der Vaart's low shot was only parried by Loris Karius, and Lasogga was on hand to head home. Mainz, playing amid rumors that coach Thomas Tuchel might be leaving the club, dominated the second half. Yunus Malli and Shinji Okazaki both got on the scoresheet to seal Hamburg's fifth consecutive defeat, despite a late goal for HSV from Ivo Ilicevic.

"Now we can reset and start afresh. We must attain our minimum goal in the relegation playoff," Hamburg's Robert Tesche said after the 3-2 defeat. Captain Rafael van der Vaart said afterwards that the side's "incredible" traveling fans deserved the man-of-the-match award.

Pinola calls for loyalty at relegated Nuremberg

Neither Nuremberg nor Eintracht Braunschweig have offered better form than Hamburg in recent weeks, both failing to collect even a point in their final five league matches. It was Nuremberg who fell behind first on Saturday though. Schalke's Joel Matip headed in from a corner after just six minutes, despite close attention from Per Nilsson.

Just before the break, Schalke practically buried Der Club - Bayern Munich's predecessors as Germany's most successful club - with a second. Roman Neustädter volleyed home from just inside the box, before Julian Draxler added a classy third in the second half. Nuremberg top-scorer Josip Drmic's late goal was nothing more than a consolation, although it was Schalke's Chinedu Obasi who had the last word, making the final score 4-2.

"Everyone should consider what they have done wrong, and if they really do love the club, they should come back and make it right," Javier Pinola said after the defeat. Asked on Sky Germany about who was to blame for Nuremberg's relegation - in a season where Michael Wieisnger, Gertjan Verbeek and Roger Prinzen have all coached the club - sporting director Martin Bader said he "wouldn't eliminate" himself from the discussion.

"I'm very sad to see Nuremberg relegated and I wish them all the best. Der Club belong in the Bundesliga," Schalke coach Jens Keller said after sealing their fate.

Braunschweig toothless at Hoffenheim

Braunschweig, the only relegation candidate not to have changed coaches all season, could not save themselves against Hoffenheim. Even against one of the league's leakiest defenses, Torsten Lieberknecht's Lions once again lacked the necessary bite in attack. Hoffenheim, meanwhile, took the lead through Sebastian Rudy, who met a cross from captain Andreas Beck with a fine diving header. The host's attacking double-act of Roberto Firmino, who scored a spectacular volley, and Kevin Volland killed off Braunschweig's comeback dreams in the second half to wrap up a 3-1 win.

Jan Hochscheidt's late strike provided little but pride for the Lions, to the raucous chants of "fight to the end" from the traveling fans in the sometimes sleepy Sinsheim stadium. Lieberknecht, a former Braunschweig player, said afterwards that it was "an honor" to coach the club, but that he was disappointed not to have salvaged more points from other recent matches. "We weren't relegated today," he concluded.

Hamburg's opponents in the relegation playoff will be decided on Sunday in the last afternoon of 2. Bundesliga action - Greuther Fürth, relegated last season, appear the most likely opponents for Mirko Slomka's side.

Leverkusen claim fourth, Bayern bathe in beer

Bayer Leverkusen's come-from-behind 2-1 win at home to Werder Bremen secured fourth place and the final UEFA Champions League spot, rendering the day's other top game irrelevant.

Wolfsburg secured an impressive 3-1 home win against Borussia Mönchengladbach, claiming fifth in the table. For a time, the Wolves looked on course for fourth place, until Leverkusen turned their game around.

Coach Armin Veh's last game in charge of Eintracht Frankfurt ended in a 2-1 defeat at the hands of this season's surprise package, Augsburg. Hannover, once embroiled in the relegation fight, climbed to a final finishing position of 10th after their 3-2 win over Freiburg.

Departing Borussia Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski claimed the Bundesliga top goalscorers' cannon, picking up two in Dortmund's 4-0 thrashing of hosts Hertha Berlin. Lewandowski's season tally of 20 just eclipsed Mario Mandzukic's 18 - with the two strikers set to compete for playing time at Bayern Munich next season.

In Munich, Pep Guardiola's side stole victory in stoppage time, as Claudio Pizarro picked up his 10th league goal of the season - a remarkable tally considering his limited minutes on pitch. The modest 1-0 win was little but a prelude for the wheat beer showers and celebrations at the Allianz Arena as Guardiola and Munich toasted their 24th German title. Twenty-three of those have come in the 51-season Bundesliga era alone.