FRANKFURT, 22 May 2005 — Schalke 04 and Werder Bremen clinched the two remaining Champions League places on the final day of the Bundesliga season yesterday as Bayern Munich’s ninth successive victory pushed VfB Stuttgart down to fifth.
Schalke secured the runners-up spot, 14 points behind Bayern, with a 3-2 win at bottom club Freiburg. An Ebbe Sand strike and two Marcelo Bordon headers saw the Gelsenkirchen side home.
Stuttgart needed a home win over Bayern to be sure of third place but were overpowered by the champions, who closed out the season with a 3-1 victory via goals from Michael Ballack, Hasan Salihamidzic and Roy Makaay.
The defeat for Stuttgart opened the door for Hertha Berlin to take third but the club from the capital missed out as they were held to a goalless draw at home to Hanover 96.
Werder, last season’s double winners, duly took advantage with a 2-1 win at Kaiserslautern. Hertha finished fourth on 58, ahead of Stuttgart on goal difference. Sixth-placed Bayer Leverkusen took the third and final UEFA Cup qualification place with a 5-1 win at home to Borussia Moenchengladbach.
Schalke were far from convincing against Freiburg but triumphed thanks to Bordon’s two classy headers in the second half.
Sand put Schalke ahead early with a close-range finish, only for Aleksandr Iashvili to score on the rebound and bring Freiburg level in the 11th minute. Bordon, one of the outstanding defenders in the Bundesliga this season, put Schalke back in front in the 55th minute when he nodded in a free kick. The Brazilian clinched victory with another header a minute from time after Roda Antar had equalized.
Dundee Lose Battle to Stay in Scottish Premier
In Glasgow, Dundee were relegated from the Scottish Premier League yesterday after being held to a nervy 1-1 draw at Livingston.
Dundee, who ended the season a point adrift of Dunfermline Athletic, finished at the bottom of the 12-team standings with 33 points from 38 matches.
Needing a win to stay up, Dundee took the lead after 18 minutes through a Calum McDonald strike from close range but the hosts equalized eight minutes later with a Craig Easton header.
City rivals Dundee United, who finished fourth from bottom with 36 points, beat Inverness Caledonian Thistle 1-0 with a Barry Robson penalty nine minutes from time.
In the other match on so-called “Survival Saturday”, Kilmarnock hammered Dunfermline 4-0. Skipper Gary Locke grabbed his first goal for the club with a header after 26 minutes.
The Ayrshire side upped the pressure after the break with further goals from Rhian Dodds, just 51 seconds into the second half, Kris Boyd and Gary McDonald.
