SV Darmstadt 98 has been relegated from the Bundesliga for the fourth time. The bottom of the table lost 0-1 (0-0) against 1. FC Heidenheim on Sunday evening and mathematically can no longer make it to the relegation place. FSV Mainz 05 in 16th place with 28 points can no longer be reached by the Hessians until the end of the season with a difference of eleven points.

The relegation of SV Darmstadt 98 had become apparent in the past few weeks and months. Coach Torsten Lieberknecht became the sole coaching record holder for games without a win in a row in the Bundesliga two weeks ago in the 0-1 win against SC Freiburg. After 22 games, he and his team ended the negative run the previous week with a win against Cologne. Despite their success, the Darmstadt team were unable to avoid falling into the 2nd Bundesliga.

The club was relegated from the top German league in 1979, 1982 and 2017. Unlike co-promoter Heidenheim, who stunned with a win against record champions FC Bayern, among other things, Darmstadt was unable to keep up with the competition throughout the entire season. A few weeks ago, Lieberknecht basically wrote off staying in the league and dismissed it as a “big miracle”. The goal for Heidenheim on Sunday came in stoppage time by Nikola Dovedan (90.1).

The remaining games will be a farewell tour for Darmstadt, where maximum damage limitation is possible. A game at VfL Wolfsburg awaits the Lilies on May 4th. After that, the games against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and finally at Borussia Dortmund are on the agenda.