SV Darmstadt 98 avoided early relegation from the Bundesliga with its third win of the season. The bottom team won 2-0 (0-0) against direct rivals 1. FC Köln on Saturday. The Rhinelanders have to tremble more and more as they are second to last in the table with four match days to go.

VfL Wolfsburg, on the other hand, achieved an important victory. The Lower Saxony team won 1-0 (1-0) against fellow rivals VfL Bochum and thus gained some breathing room in the table cellar. Before the last four games, VfL (31 points) climbed to 13th place, Bochum (27) remains 15th in the table. at least until Sunday just before the relegation place. Then Mainz (26) plays in Freiburg and can also increase their lead over the penultimate Cologne (22). Darmstadt now has 17 points.

There was great sadness after the final whistle in Cologne. The home defeat against Darmstadt drastically reduces FC’s chances of staying in the league. Christoph Klarer (57th) gave the guests the lead. Oscar Vilhelmsson (90th) made everything clear. For Darmstadt it was the first win since matchday 7.

For Wolfsburg, Jonas Wind (43rd minute) scored the redeeming goal in the first home game after the surprising separation from sports director Marcel Schäfer. The Bochum team struggled because their supposed 1-0 lead was denied by Patrick Osterhage due to an offside position.

In the race for a secure place in the Champions League, RB Leipzig beat 1. FC Heidenheim 2-1 (1-0). Benjamin Sesko (42nd) and Lois Openda (85th) scored the Leipzig goals. Nikola Dovedan (69th) scored for FCH. Coach Marco Rose’s team is three points ahead of fifth-placed Borussia Dortmund. BVB welcomes champions Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday.

TSG Hoffenheim won 4:3 (1:1) against Borussia Mönchengladbach in a turbulent game and thereby maintained their hopes of a place in the European Cup. Wout Weghorst (36th), Grischa Prömel (58th), Ozan Kabak (66th) and Anton Stach (90th 1) scored the Hoffenheim goals, former TSG striker Robin Hack (39th/78th/89th) scored a hat-trick for Mönchengladbach.

Meanwhile, FC Bayern also presented themselves in Champions League form in the Bundesliga. The second in the table won 5:1 (2:0) in the evening against the hopeless 1. FC Union Berlin, which is increasingly sinking into the relegation battle due to the defeat. The Bayern goals in front of around 22,000 spectators in the An der Alten Försterei stadium were scored by Leon Goretzka (29th minute), Harry Kane with a directly converted free kick (45th 1), Thomas Müller (53rd/66th) and Mathys Tel (62nd). .). Union scored through Yorbe Vertessen (90th 1) and is fourteenth in the table, three points ahead of the relegation spot held by Mainz 05. The Rheinhessen will be challenged at SC Freiburg on Sunday.