This weekend marked the conclusion of the 2022-23 Bundesliga season in Germany, and Matchday 34 featured a fierce four-team battle to avoid relegation.
Bayern Munich emerged as the League winner on the last day to clinch their 11th Bundesliga title in a row, while Borussia Dortmund finished second.
Teams That Got Demoted From The German Bundesliga in 2023
Hertha Berlin’s demotion was sealed on Matchday 33, as they drew 1-1 with Bochum after giving up a late equalizer.
Hertha needed to win their remaining two games to have any chance of avoiding relegation, but Bochum’s late goal put an end to that hope.
On Matchday 33, Schalke and Eintracht Frankfurt drew 2-2, putting Schalke in 17th place with 31 points. And a defeat at the hand of RB Leipzig on the final matchday of the season put them in the relegation zone.
Teams That Gained Promotion Into Bundesliga
Darmstadt gained promotion after a victory against Magdeburg, ending a six-year exile from Germany’s top league, and will be one of the new clubs joining the Bundesliga next season.
After that, either Heidenheim or Hamburg will join them in the Bundesliga, and the club that doesn’t make the cut will play the third-to-last team in the league in a promotion playoff.
Unlike in many European leagues, where the top three teams are promoted and the worst three are relegated immediately, only two clubs in Germany’s top two levels are promoted automatically between divisions. The fate of the third club is decided in a two-legged play-off.
Bundesliga’s top four finishers earn berths in Europe’s elite club competition for the upcoming season. Teams ranked fifth and sixth enter the Europa League, while teams ranked seventh play in the Europa Conference League.
Clubs ranked 17th and 18th in the Bundesliga are relegated to the second division immediately.
The top two teams in the second tier of the Germany League meanwhile, earn promotion to the Bundesliga.
However, this is when major distinctions between England and Germany become apparent.
How does the German Bundesliga play-off work?
The play-off in the Bundesliga is different from the typical playoff format, which features four clubs competing in a semi-final and a final.
The German relegation play-off features the 16th-placed team from the Bundesliga and the third-placed team from Bundesliga 2.
The first leg takes place at the stadium of the team competing in the Bundesliga, while the second leg takes place at the stadium of the team competing in the Bundesliga 2.
The victor of the two-legged tie will be promoted to the German League the following season.
Two 15-minute periods of extra time and, if necessary, penalties will be played if the two halves conclude in a tie. As of the 2021/22 season, the away goals rule is no longer in use.
In the 2008–09 season, the league once again featured a play-off. Before the 1981 creation of a single-division Bundesliga 2 and the 1991 reunification of Germany, it had been used.
The two halves of the series will be played on Sunday and Monday following the final matchday of the regular season, which for the 2022–23 Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 seasons will be May 27 and 28, respectively.
The German team will host the first leg on Thursday, 1 June, 2023, while the Bundesliga 2 club will play host on Monday, 5 June.
If either club is playing in the DFB Cup final on June 3 or a European competition final, the dates can be rescheduled.
According to the regulations, the team with the longest gap between league matches must host the first leg.
If both teams have had the same number of off days, a draw will be held to decide which games will be played first.
