Top teams win in Bundesliga

Berlin, May 4 (IANS) Bayern Munich pushed Hamburg one step closer to their first ever relegation while Schalke practically booked their Champions League berth in the 34th round of the German Bundesliga.

Bayern recovered from their disappointing Champions League exit against Real Madrid as they crushed relegation threatened Hamburg 4-1 Saturday, reports Xinhua.

The hosts staged a courageous start against the Bavarians but things changed with Mario Goetze's opener (32nd minute). The German international utilised a one-two with Arjen Robben inside the box to beat Hamburg's custodian Rene Adler.

The 'Rothosen' had the chance to respond but Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer denied Rafael van der Vaart's effort with three minutes remaining in the first half.

Bayern's Thomas Mueller doubled the lead with assistance of Goetze after the restart when he deflected a shot to give Adler no chance for a save (55th). Goetze sealed his brace (70th) before Hakan Calhanoglu scored Hamburg's consolation two minutes later. Bayern were not done as Claudio Pizarro's overhead kick made it 4-1 (75th).

Bayern defender Jerome Boateng ensured a negative highlight when he was sent off with a straight red card due to a violent conduct against Kerem Demirbay in the dying minutes.

With the result, the 16th-placed Hamburg needs a win to secure their relegation playoff match next week.

Elsewhere, Dortmund came from behind to beat Hoffenheim 3-2 at the farewell of Robert Lewandowski on home front.

Hoffenheim grabbed the opener through Roberto Firmino but Dortmund needed five minutes to turn the tide with three goals from Kevin Grosskreutz, Henrik Mkhitaryan and Lukasz Pisczczek.

Hoffenheim failed to fight back although Niklas Suele made it 2-3 (66th). '1899' sit on ninth with 41 points whereas Dortmund occupy second with 68.

Schalke practically secured their Champions League appearance as they established a three-point advantage to fourth placed Leverkusen with just one game left, following their 2-0 victory at Freiburg.

Schalke youngster Kaan Ayhan smoothed the way for the win with his first Bundesliga goal (13th) while Klaas Jan Huntelaar scored to double the lead after the break.

Schalke stay third with 61 points while Freiburg slipped to 14th with 36 points.

Leverkusen earned a 2-0 win at Frankfurt to remain on course for a Champions League playoff spot. Gonzalo Castro and Emre Can donated the first half goals to kill the game before the break.

Elsewhere, sixth placed Monchengladbach reaped in a 3-1 victory over Mainz.

Wolfsburg boosted their Champions League playoff hopes thanks to the 2-1 winner of Ivica Olic at Stuttgart.

Augsburg keep their hopes for a place in Europe alive as they overcame bottom side Braunschweig 1-0 by courtesy of Raul Bobadilla's last gasp goal and relegation threatened Nuremberg suffered a 0-2 home defeat to Hannover. Later, Aaron Hunt's second half brace helped Bremen beat Berlin in the penultimate round of Bundesliga.