Bundesliga 2, Matchday 34 recap: Cologne promoted, Eintracht Braunschweig in relegation play-off
Another enthralling Bundesliga 2 season came to an end on Matchday 34, with Cologne sealing the title on the final day and Eintracht Braunschweig finishing in the relegation play-off position. Here's how it all went down...
Champions
Hamburg secured automatic promotion with their resounding 6-1 win over Ulm, but the title was still up for grabs going into the final day. HSV went to Greuther Fürth knowing they'd secure top spot if they equalled or bettered Cologne's result at home to Kaiserslautern.
But a shock 3-2 defeat handed the Billy Goats a chance to seal the title instead. Friedhelm Funkel's side obliged, defeating Kaisterslautern to win the title by two points.
Third place (play-off)
Five teams were in a position to finish third on the final day and go into the promotion play-off: Cologne, Elversberg, Paderborn, Fortuna Düsseldorf and Kaiserslautern.
After Cologne sealed the title, Elversberg only needed to beat Schalke to confirm their place in the coveted, albeit daunting, play-off (already confirmed to be against Heidenheim)
Elversberg did just that, with a 2-1 win in Gelsenkirchen that rendered all other results meaningless – which was a good thing as all of Paderborn, Düsseldorf and Kaiserslautern lost their own games.
Relegation play-off
All teams placed 12th and above were already safe from the drop. While the bottom two, Ulm and Jahn Regensburg were relegted ahead of the final day, meaning all eyes were on the relegation play-off spot.
Schalke were not mathematically safe, but goal difference meant they essentially were.
This meant a three-way shootout between Greuther Fürth, Preußen Münster and Eintracht Braunschweig. The latter, who started the day in the relegation play-off spot, needed to better Münster's result to have any chance of avoiding it, but failed to do so. They lost 4-1 at home to Nuremberg, while Münster drew 2-2 at Ulm. Fürth defeated Hamburg 3-2 in one of their better performances of the year.
Related news
Promotion-chasing trio at home on Sunday
Leaders Schalke face Miroslav Klose's Nuremberg in one of three Sunday fixtures involving the pre-Matchday 16 top three...
Can the Bundesliga win another Champions League spot?
The Bundesliga had five teams in the Champions League in 2024/25 and is in the running to repeat that in 2026/27.
Fantasy Team of the Week: Matchday 13
Harry Kane, Yan Diomande and Nico Schlotterbeck were among the star Fantasy performers on Matchday 13.