Cologne relegated, Dortmund break another record - 7M sport

Cologne relegated, Dortmund break another record



I have a say

Posted Sunday, May 06, 2012 by YAHOO Sport

Cologne had their German league relegation confirmed on Saturday, while Borussia Dortmund broke the Bundesliga record for the most points in a season with a 4-0 thrashing of Freiburg.

"My team has erased any doubts and proven their character," said Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp after his side finished the season eight points clear of Champions League finalists Bayern Munich.

"They have shown an impressive appetite for football. Something extraordinary has happened: we have got 81 points, which no team will beat anytime soon."

Dortmund's second consecutive title triumph allowed them to break Bayern's long-held record of 79 for the most points amassed in a season (Bayern twice picked up the equivalent of 79 points when two points were awarded for a win).

Dortmund also extended their unbeaten run to 28 games.

All four Dortmund goals came from Poland internationals as Robert Lewandowski netted twice, while international team-mate Jakub Blaszczykowski also hit two goals to make it 4-0 at the break.

In contrast, Cologne's 4-1 defeat at home to Bayern saw them drop to 17th in the league, synonymous with automatic relegation, after Hertha Berlin's 3-1 home win over 10-man Hoffenheim lifted them to 16th.

Hertha must now win a two-leg play-off against a team from the second division to stay in the top tier.

The capital side will discover who their opponents are on Sunday and play the first leg on Thursday.

Hertha took the lead at Berlin's Olympic Stadium when Tunisia midfielder Anis Ben-Hatira slammed home a direct free-kick just 14 minutes into the game.

Hoffenheim were reduced to 10 men when ex-Liverpool forward Ryan Babel was shown two yellow cards in quick succession after theatrics from Georgia's Levan Kobiashvili convinced the referee he had been struck in the face by the Dutchman.

Replays showed it was a harsh decision against Babel, who was dismissed with 42 minutes on the clock.

Hertha made it 2-0 when Ben-Hatira tapped home again on 78 minutes to secure Berlin's play-off lifeline.

Ex-Germany defender Marvin Compper netted a late consolation for Hoffenheim before Brazilian striker Raffael made it 3-1 to the hosts in the 92nd minute.

Arsenal-bound Lukas Podolski marked his Cologne farewell, but could not prevent his team suffering a home defeat by Bayern.

German international Thomas Mueller put Bayern ahead with a well-timed strike as the Cologne defence swarmed around Munich hot-shot Mario Gomez, leaving Mueller to fire home on 34 minutes.

Cologne captain Pedro Geromel then turned the ball into his own net on 52 minutes and Bayern's Dutch star Arjen Robben curled in the third on 54 minutes.

The hosts pulled a goal back, but Mueller netted Bayern's fourth to compound Cologne's misery and send them down.

Hanvover claimed the last available Europa League qualification spot as their 2-1 win at home to Kaiserslautern left them seventh, while Stuttgart's 3-2 win at home to Wolfsburg denied Wolves a top-seven finish and a place in Europe.

Stuttgart's win saw them score three goals in six second-half minutes to hit back from 3-2 down.

Germany's Stefan Kiessling hit a hat-trick in Bayer Leverkusen's 4-1 victory at Nuremberg as ex-Germany captain Michael Ballack made his final appearance for Leverkusen.

Dutch striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar was confirmed as the Bundesliga's top scorer with 29 goals in 32 games after he scored twice in his team's 3-2 win at Werder Bremen.

Having finished 14th in their first season in Germany's top flight, Augsburg enjoyed a 1-0 win over Hamburg, which proved to be the last for their Dutch coach Jos Luhukay, who resigned after the final whistle.



Attention: Third parties may advertise their products and/or services on our website.7M does not warrant the accuracy, adequacy or completeness of their contents.
Your dealings with such third parties are solely between you and such third parties and we shall not be liable in any way for any loss or damage of any sort incurred by you.