After a hectic final matchday, the Bundesliga season is over — and the stay in the Bundesliga for some sides, as well. FC Köln joined Darmstadt in Relegation, while Bochum will play a relegation playoff against 2. Bundesliga side Fortuna Düsseldorf.

Going into the final day, many teams still had all to play for. SV Darmstadt 98 was the only team whose relegation was already confirmed, capping off a poor season where they won just three matches. FC Köln was guaranteed to finish in the bottom three, but they still had a chance to reach 16th, which would send them into the relegation playoff.

Köln could only accomplish this with a win and a loss for Union Berlin, who sat in 16th at the beginning of the matchday. Here’s where things get crazy: Union Berlin could finish 17th, which would guarantee relegation, but they could also finish 16th and play in the relegation playoff, or even higher with a win: guaranteed safety. That is, depending on the results of the VfL Bochum and Mainz 05 games, as they could both finish as low as 16th.

Bochum’s survival chances took a hit when they fell behind after just six minutes, with Werder Bremen’s Marco Friedl scoring following a corner. However, Mainz fell behind early too, with Wolfsburg’s Kevin Paredes firing in from close range. This meant that Union Berlin could overtake both by scoring against Freiburg. Reassuringly for Union, immediate relegation looked unlikely, as two Eren Dinkçi goals put Köln down 2-0 early.

Mainz equalized shortly after falling behind, with a good strike from Brajan Gruda pulling them level. This meant they were level on points with Bochum, but they had a favorable goal differential, meaning if Union were able to win, it would be Bochum who would be sent to the relegation playoff. And, in the 36th minute, Union had a big chance to pull ahead after a handball in the box — but Josip Juranović’s penalty was saved and the match stayed at 0-0.

Köln’s relegation was essentially confirmed after just forty minutes, falling behind 3-0 to Heidenheim. Köln hasn’t played in the 2. Bundesliga since 2019, when they earned promotion back to the top flight immediately following relegation in 2018. They will be hoping for a repeat of that next season in the second tier.

Things were much quieter in the second half. Köln restored some of their dignity when Steffen Tigges scored to make it a more respectable 3-1 scoreline. Manuel Riemann was called into action a few times for Bochum, but in the 70th minute, Bochum dropped into 16th as Benedict Hollerbach gave Union Berlin the lead with a spectacular goal.

Bochum’s day went from bad to worse as Sepp van den Berg scored for Mainz, tucking home his own rebound on a free kick. Mainz climbed to 13th in the live table, practically confirming their safety — unless they conceded twice in ten minutes, they would be staying in the Bundesliga.

The final few minutes saw goals fly in. Bremen scored twice in two minutes against Bochum, extending their lead to 3-0 — meaning that Bochum would be going to the relegation playoff unless Union Berlin lost their lead against Freiburg. Köln’s struggles continued, too, as they conceded a fourth goal, this time to Jan-Niklas Beste. Mainz’s safety, meanwhile, was essentially clinched as Jonathan Burkardt scored a bizarre goal to make it 3-1.

Bochum pulled one back and then conceded once again, making it 4-1 and surely confirming they would finish 16th. That is, until Ritsu Doan scored against Union Berlin, making it 1-1 and sending Union below Bochum. Union would be 16th — until they earned a penalty kick in the dying minutes of the match. Kevin Volland stepped up but missed — and then Janik Haberer found the bottom corner on the rebound, putting Union Berlin up 2-1 and taking them above Bochum once again. This time, they would keep the lead, and stay in the league.

So, in the end: Union spent most of the day in a relegation spot but avoided playing in the relegation playoff at the last moment. Bochum had an abysmal day and fell into 16th and the relegation playoff against Düsseldorf. Köln, too, had an awful day and were relegated to the second tier. Mainz, on the other hand, got a massive result against Wolfsburg to confirm safety — even climbing above Borussia Mönchengladbach and into 13th.

Just another day in the Bundesliga, then.

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Image via sv98.de.

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