Salihovic wins Matchday 34 Vote
Munich - In terms of drama, excitement and changing fortunes, Matchday 34 was perhaps the most entertaining weekend of the season. FC Schalke 04 took the final UEFA Champions League spot, while Eintracht Frankfurt qualified for the UEFA Europa League, but it was at the bottom of the table that the more memorable stories were written.
Nerves of steel
As ever we asked you to vote for your player of the Matchday and with the results now in, it's no surprise that you chose the man who orchestrated one of the most dramatic relegation escapes in Bundesliga history: 1899 Hoffenheim’s Sejad Salihovic.
Hoffenheim needed a victory away at Borussia Dortmund on the final day to have any hope of staying up via the relegation play-off place, to which they would pip Fortuna Düsseldorf if die Flingeraner were beaten in Hanover. Things looked bleak for the Sinsheim side when they trailed after an hour, but Salihovic soon made his mark.
He converted a penalty to level things up at 1-1, and then sensationally scored a second spot-kick just four minutes later against stand-in BVB keeper Kevin Großkreutz after Roman Weidenfeller had been dismissed. Markus Gisdol's side held on for a famous win, and now have two matches against 1. FC Kaiserslautern to prolong their Bundesliga stay for a sixth year. With 31 per cent of the vote, the Bosnia-Herzegovina international is a deserving winner.
Close contest
While Salihovic was the clear victor, it was a much closer affair for the other spots. Schalke winger Julian Draxler took second place with 22 per cent after his goal at Freiburg helped to seal Champions League qualification for Freiburg, while Dortmund's Robert Lewandowski took third spot with 18 per cent after netting his 24th goal of the season.
Franck Ribery's stunning volley for FC Bayern Munich against Borussia Mönchengladbach was only enough for fourth place with 16 per cent, and his teammate Arjen Robben came in fifth. Despite scoring his 25th goal and taking the top goalscorer’s award, Bayer 04 Leverkusen’s Stefan Kießling brought up the rear.
