Hannover relegated; Gladbach boosts Champions League hopes

BERLIN — Hannover was relegated from the Bundesliga despite not playing Sunday as Eintracht Frankfurt came from behind to beat Mainz 2-1 and end its last hopes of clinching a playoff place. Anis Ben-Hatira forced Frankfurt's winner in the 84th minute, when his cross was deflected into the net off the back of Mainz defender Stefan Bell. The win lifted second-from-bottom Frankfurt to 30 points, one behind Werder Bremen in the relegation playoff place, with Hannover nine points behind Bremen with three games remaining. As Frankfurt and Bremen meet on the last day of the season, with three points going to one of the teams or one each in the event of a draw, every permutation puts the playoff out of Hannover's reach. Mainz defender Daniel Brosinski opened the scoring with a perfect free kick in the 18th minute — the only highlight in a scrappy first half — 10 minutes before Marco Russ scrambled in the equalizer. Frankfurt pushed hard after the break, with Ben-Hatira going close and then Loris Karius producing a fine reflex save to deny Haris Seferovic, before Ben-Hatira finally gave Frankfurt a lifeline and sealed Hannover's fate. Earlier, promising midfielder Mahmoud Dahoud scored one goal and set up another Sunday as Borussia Moenchengladbach boosted its Champions League qualification hopes with a 3-1 win over Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga. 'Gladbach moved one point behind Hertha Berlin, which occupies the last Champions League qualification spot. Hoffenheim remained three points above Bremen with three games remaining. — Agencies