Schalke and Bremen clinch Champions League places on final day

Schalke 04 and Werder Bremen clinched the two remaining Champions League places on the final day of the Bundesliga season yesterday as Bayern Munich's ninth successive victory pushed VfB Stuttgart down to fifth.

Schalke secured the runners-up spot, 14 points behind Bayern, with a 3-2 win away to bottom club Freiburg. An Ebbe Sand strike and two Marcelo Bordon headers saw the Gelsenkirchen side home.

Stuttgart needed a home win over Bayern to be sure of keeping hold of third place but they were overpowered by the champions, who closed out the season with a 3-1 win via goals from Michael Ballack, Hasan Salihamidzic and Roy Makaay.

Stuttgart's defeat opened the door for Hertha Berlin to take third place but the club from the capital missed out as they were held to an agonising goalless draw at home to Hanover 96.

Werder Bremen, last season's double winners, duly took advantage with a 2-1 win away to Kaiserslautern.

Schalke, who finished with 63 points, gain direct entry to the Champions League, while Bremen, in third with 59, go into the final qualifying round.

Hertha finished fourth on 58, ahead of Stuttgart on goal difference, while Bayer Leverkusen took the third and final UEFA Cup qualification place with a 5-1 win at home to Borussia Moenchenglad-bach.

Schalke were far from convincing against Freiburg but got the win they needed thanks to Bordon's two classy headers in the second half.

Sand had put them ahead with a close-range finish early on, only for Aleksandr Iashvili to score on the rebound and bring Freiburg level in the 11th minute.

Bordon, one of the outstanding defenders in the Bundesliga this season, put Schalke back in front in the 55th minute when he nodded in from a free-kick and the Brazilian clinched victory with another header a minute from time after Roda Antar had equalised.

Stuttgart were faced with a much tougher challenge in their final game and ultimately Bayern proved far too strong for them.

Ballack got a faint touch on a Sebastian Deisler free-kick for the opener in the 27th minute and Salihamidzic headed in the second three minutes later.

Makaay took his goals total for the season to 22 with the third in the 71st minute and Imre Szabics struck a late goal that was no consolation at all for Stuttgart.

Hertha should have taken advantage but their forwards missed a stack of chances against Hanover, leaving Bremen to strike gold thanks to goals from Tim Borowski and Nelson Valdez.

Bremen can now look forward to a return to the Champions League and making up for their humiliating 10-2 aggregate defeat by Olympique Lyon this season.

"Obviously we're very pleased about the way this has gone," said Werder coach Thomas Schaaf.

"It's been a good season all in all and it's finished very well."

Season honours

Champions: Bayern Munich (Champions League).

Runners-up: Schalke (Champions League).

Third place: W. Bremen (Cham-pions League, third qualifying round).

UEFA CUP: Hertha Berlin, VfB Stuttgart, Bayer Leverkusen.

Relegated: Freiburg, Hansa Rostock, VfL Bochum.

Promoted: Cologne, Duisburg and either E. Frankfurt or 1860 Munich (to be decided today).

Top scorer: M. Mintal (Nurem-berg - 24 goals).