While the eyes of the Bundesliga were fixed on the title race at the top of the table, further down the league a cutthroat relegation battle was set for a day of twists and turns.
Bochum knew three points would at least steer them clear of automatic relegation, and the home side’s task was made all the easier after just six minutes when a moment of madness from Leverkusen’s Amine Adli saw the Frenchman lash out at Dominique Heintz in a crazy off the ball incident. Initially only worthy of a yellow card from the referee, a quick word from VAR saw Tobias Welz overturn his additional decision and brandish the red card.
Leverkusen had entered the final day still in contention of finishing inside the European places, but after the early red card, their chances plummeted.
Instead, rather predictably, it was the relegation candidates who took the lead midway through the half, with Philipp Forster arriving late on to Takuma Asano’s lofted cross to the back post to poke home the opener.
One became two fairly quickly courtesy of Asano, when the Japanese forward lashed home a bouncing ball inside the penalty area to double Bochum’s lead and put them to within a touching distance of safety.
While half-time results from elsewhere all but confirmed Bochum’s place in the top-flight for next season, the home side maintained their professionalism against the 10 men of Leverkusen. Dominating possession, while pinning the European hopefuls back towards their own goal, it was turning into a relatively comfortable afternoon at the Vonovia Ruhrstadion.
However, on the odd occasion, the visitors would remind Bochum there was still time to play, with Moussa Diaby enjoying Leverkusen’s best chance of the match, but the winger’s effort rebounded off the post before falling into the thankful arms of Manuel Riemann between the sticks.
It would prove as good as it got for Leverkusen, whose wretched afternoon in North Rhine-Westphalia was made even worse late on, as Kevin Stoger added the cherry on top of the cake for Bochum with a sensational first-time lob from just inside the penalty area to wrap up a memorable afternoon for Der Blau.
Remarkably though, with Wolfsburg failing to beat already relegated Hertha Berlin at home, Leverkusen’s defeat didn’t deny them a place in Europe, with Alonso’s side destined for the continent once again next season.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Takuma Asano (VfL Bochum)
