Bundesliga wrap: Bayern clinch Champions League spot

Bayern Munich has ruthlessly thrashed basement side St Pauli 8-1 in the Bundesliga to seal their Champions League berth for next season.

Mario Gomez grabbed a hat-trick to take his league tally to 27 for the season while Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben both hit braces to confirm St Pauli’s relegation.

Belgian defender Daniel van Buyten scored the other goal for the former champions, while Marcel Eger scored a consolation for the losing side in the 78th minute.

Bayern – three points behind second-placed Bayer Leverkusen, who could only muster a 1-1 draw with Hamburg – are still a chance for automatic qualification to the premier European competition.

Goals from Mikael Silvestre and Claudio Pizarro helped Werder Bremen confirm their top-flight status against German champions Borussia Dortmund.

Borussia Monchengladbach moved into 16th on the standings, which carries relegation playoff status, after a 2-0 win over Freiburg thanks to goals from Mike Hanke and Marco Reus.

Schalke’s woes continued as they went down to Europa League-bound Mainz 3-1 just days after being bundled out of the Champions League by English giants Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Former Ajax Amsterdam, Real Madrid and AC Milan striker Klaas Jan Huntelaar’s 47th-minute strike was not enough, as Andrew Schurrle, Lewis Holtby and Nikolce Noveski netted for Mainz.

Wolfsburg are still teetering on the brink of relegation after they succumbed to a 2-1 loss to Kaiserslautern.

Mario Mandzukic drew first blood in the seventh minute for Felix Magath’s men, but saw his effort cancelled out by Srdjan Lakic in the 26th, before Martin Amedick secured the points for the Red Devils on the stroke of half-time.

Eintracht Frankfurt must defeat champions Dortmund next week to keep alive their survival hopes after losing 2-0 to Cologne.

Elsewhere, Hoffenheim accounted for Nurnberg 2-1 while 2006/07 champions Stuttgart won 2-1 against Hannover, who have settled for a place in the Europa League.