Estimated reading time 2 minutes 2 Min

St. Pauli and Heidenheim relegated on Bundesliga’s last day

BERLIN (AP) – St. Pauli and Heidenheim were relegated from the Bundesliga while Wolfsburg grabbed the last chance for survival on a dramatic last day of the season on Saturday.

17 May 2026
By CIARÁN FAHEY
17 May 2026

BERLIN (AP) - St. Pauli and Heidenheim were relegated from the Bundesliga while Wolfsburg grabbed the last chance for survival on a dramatic last day of the season on Saturday.

Wolfsburg won a relegation decider at St. Pauli 3-1 to send the home team down and qualify for a playoff where it will be favored against the third-place finisher from the second division to decide which plays in the top division next season.

Heidenheim, which had been level with Wolfsburg and St. Pauli going into the final round, needed a win at home against Mainz to keep alive its hopes but it slumped to a 2-0 loss.

The last two are automatically relegated to the second division.

Stuttgart held on for the last Champions League qualification spot despite conceding two late goals in a 2-2 draw at Eintracht Frankfurt, denying Hoffenheim and Bayer Leverkusen their chance.

Both rivals were hoping for a favor from Frankfurt but they failed to win in any case. Hoffenheim lost at Borussia Mönchengladbach 4-0 and Leverkusen could only draw with Hamburger SV 1-1.

Jonathan Burkardt scored two late penalties for Frankfurt.

Harry Kane scored a hat trick to take his season tally to 36 Bundesliga goals in league champion Bayern Munich 's 5-1 win at home over Cologne.

Leon Goretzka started his last Bundesliga game with Bayern, which was presented with the league trophy after the game.

Bayern captain Manuel Neuer, who extended his contract the day before, gave the "salad bowl" trophy to Goretzka to hoist to the sky to start the celebrations. The customary beer showers started soon afterward with Dayot Upamecano dousing coach Vincent Kompany. Kompany wasn't the only victim.

Bayern next faces defending champion Stuttgart in the German Cup final in Berlin's Olympiastadion next Saturday.

Marie-Louise Eta oversaw her second win in charge of Union Berlin as her team ended the season with a 4-0 rout of visiting Augsburg.

Eta, the first female coach in the Bundesliga, is next slated to take over Union's women's team, though she may face calls to stay in charge of the men's after finishing with a draw and two wins from her five games at the helm.

Second-placed Borussia Dortmund finished with a 2-0 win at Werder Bremen, and Freiburg enjoyed a 4-1 win at home over third-placed Leipzig.

Freiburg next faces Aston Villa in the Europa League final in Istanbul on Wednesday.

More Top Stories