Kane scores hat‑trick as St. Pauli are relegated from the Bundesliga

Forward Harry Kane delivered a hat‑trick as Bayern Munich clinched their 35th German title on the final day of the Bundesliga season, defeating Cologne 5‑1 on Saturday.

Stuttgart secured a Champions League berth, while St. Pauli and Heidenheim were relegated on the same matchday.

Kane opened the scoring with a graceful volley and later added a direct free‑kick in the first half before completing his fourth hat‑trick of the season, finishing as the league’s top scorer with 36 goals.

Cologne’s El Mala produced a superb solo goal, but Bayern’s trio of Kane, Tom Bischof and Nicolas Jackson ensured a decisive victory.

In the fight at the bottom of the table, Wolfsburg edged out a three‑way battle with St. Pauli and Heidenheim to avoid automatic relegation.

The three clubs entered the day level on points, but Wolfsburg’s 3‑1 win over St. Pauli secured the crucial 16th‑place play‑off spot.

St. Pauli goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj made several important saves in the first half before Konstantinos Koulierakis headed a corner to give the visitors the lead.

Half‑time substitute Abdoulie Ceesay equalised for St. Pauli with a header at 57 minutes, but the scoreline changed again after Wolfsburg restored their advantage under controversial circumstances.

Vasilj claimed he had been pushed after deflecting the ball into his own net at a corner, yet the goal was awarded following a tense VAR review.

Christian Eriksen missed a penalty for Wolfsburg 15 minutes from time, but Dezan Pejcinovic sealed St. Pauli’s fate with a calm finish shortly afterwards.

– Wolfsburg not yet safe –

Wolfsburg will face one of Hannover, Elversberg or Paderborn in the play‑off later this month, while St. Pauli will return to the second tier after two years in the Bundesliga.

Heidenheim’s three‑year stay in the top flight ended when a 2‑0 defeat to Mainz dashed their hopes of a last‑day escape.

Philipp Tietz opened the scoring for Mainz, followed by Nadiem Amiri’s second goal just before half‑time.

Stuttgart earned Champions League qualification with a 2‑2 draw at Eintracht Frankfurt.

Chema and Nikolas Nartey gave Stuttgart an early advantage, while Jonathan Burkardt salvaged a point for Frankfurt with two late penalties.

The draw left Stuttgart above Hoffenheim and Bayer Leverkusen, the latter of whom secured Europa League qualification despite dropping points on Saturday.

Leverkusen were held 1‑1 at home to Hamburg, with Jarell Quansah equalising late after Fabio Vieira’s superb second‑half strike for the visitors.

Hoffenheim suffered a 4‑0 defeat away to Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Hugo Bolin and Haris Tabakovic gave Gladbach a 2‑0 half‑time lead, before Kevin Diks and Robin Hack added two late goals.

Meanwhile, Freiburg secured seventh place and European qualification with a 4‑1 win over RB Leipzig.

The Europa League finalists struck early with Niklas Beste and Igor Matanovic’s quickfire goals in the first half.

Forzan Ouedraogo pulled one back shortly after, but Freiburg continued with goals from Matthias Ginter and Derr Scherhant after the break.

Freiburg will either play in the Conference League or the Champions League next season, depending on whether they beat Aston Villa in the Europa League final later this month.

Elsewhere, Serhou Guirassy and Yan Couto gave Borussia Dortmund a 2‑0 win over Werder Bremen, while Union Berlin defeated Augsburg 4‑0.

Andrej Ilic, Woo‑yeong Jeong and Andras Schafer scored as Union tore through Augsburg on the counter‑attack, handing Marie‑Louise Eta a memorable victory in her last game as interim coach.

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