Lewis Holtby (L) of Hamburger SV vies with Christoph Kramer of Borussia Moenchengladbach during the Bundesliga match at Volkspark Stadium in Hamburg, Germany, on May 12, 2018. Hamburger SV won 2-1. (Xinhua/Ulrich Hufnagel)
BERLIN, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Hamburg relegated for the first time in their club history despite a 2-1 victory over Borussia Monchengladbach meanwhile Wolfsburg will face a relegation play-off after beating already relegated Cologne 4-1 at the closer of the 55th Bundesliga season on Saturday.
The "HSV" needed a victory and a win by Cologne over Wolfsburg to maintain their chance to remain in the top flight.
Hamburg grabbed a fairy-tale start into the game as they opened the scoring through Aaron Hunt, who converted a handball penalty for the opener with eleven minutes played.
Monchengladbach responded well and shocked the hosts with the leveller in the 28th minute when Josip Drmic overcame Hamburg goalkeeper Julian Pollersbeck into the top left corner.
After the restart, Hamburg pressed frenetically as Tatsuya Ito came close before Lewis Holtby slotted home with a low shot into the far post corner to make it 2-1 on the scoreboards in the 63rd minute.
However, the hosts had to complete the game with ten-men as Bobby Wood received his marching order after seeing his second yellow card in the 71st minute.
Despite the win, Hamburg will relegate into the second division for the first time after 55 seasons in Germany's top flight whereas Monchengladbach completed the season on the 9th place.
Wolfsburg wrapped up a much-needed 4-1 victory over relegated Cologne to avoid their direct relegation.
The "Wolves" ensured the best possible start into the clash as they broke the deadlock with 40 seconds played when Joshua Guilavogui hammered home the opener.
Bruno Labbadia's men continued on the front foot and should have doubled their lead but neither Divock Origi nor Josip Brekalo were able to make the most of their promising chances.
Cologne lacked in penetration but they punished Wolfsburg's wastefulness at the half-hour mark as Jonas Hector marked the equalizer to shock the hosts.
After the half time, Wolfsburg came out with their guns blazing as Origi secured the 2-1 lead after poking home into the empty net in the 54th minute.
The hosts were not done with the scoring as Robin Knoche headed home a cross before Josip Brekalo rounded off the 4-1 victory, which sealed Hamburg's relegation.
Wolfsburg completed the season on the 16th place to face lower league side Holstein Kiel for two legs in the relegation play-offs meanwhile Cologne will play in the second division next season.
