BERLIN (Reuters) - VfL Bochum and Holstein Kiel were relegated from the Bundesliga on Saturday after defeats by Mainz 05 and Freiburg respectively on the penultimate matchday of the season.
Bochum, who had been promoted back in 2021, suffered a 4-1 home loss to European hopefuls Mainz and are bottom on 22 points, three behind Holstein Kiel in 17th, with one match left.
The hosts went into the game needing a win to have any chances of staying up but Mainz went in front in first-half stoppage time thanks to Nadiem Amiri's superb free kick.
Phillipp Mwene struck eight minutes after the restart and Jonathan Burkardt made it 3-0 to seal Bochum's fate and lift Mainz into sixth place that leads to the Conference League competition. Bochum cut the deficit through Gerrit Holtmann's low drive before Pual Nebel scored for Mainz in stoppage time.
Kiel, who won promotion last season, took a 24th-minute lead through Lasse Rosenboom but Freiburg, battling for a top-four finish and Champions League football next season, levelled in stoppage time through Johan Manzambi before Lukas Hoeler headed in at the far post to make it 2-1.
Freiburg are fourth on 55 points, with Borussia Dortmund, in fifth on 51, taking on Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday.
Heidenheim, winners 3-0 at Union Berlin, are in the relegation playoff spot in 16th, two points behind St Pauli who travel to Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday.
(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann, editing by Ed Osmond)
