Hertha Berlin have been relegated from the Bundesliga following a 2-2 draw away to Fortuna Dusseldorf to confirm a 4-3 aggregate defeat.
Dusseldorf started brilliantly and were ahead in the first minute when Maximillian Beister collected the ball on the edge of the box before firing past Thomas Kraft.
Berlin were clearly shocked by the early goal and struggled to adapt to Dusseldorf's style in the opening minutes.
However, Hertha Berlin were level midway through the first half when Anis Ben-Hatira headed in Ronny's cross.
Adrian Ramos almost put Berlin ahead in the final moments of the first period but the forward's long-range effort was well saved by Michael Ratajczak.
Hertha Berlin started brightly in the second half but their chances of victory were dealt a blow when Ben-Hatira was given a second yellow card for a foul on Adam Bodzek.
Fortuna quickly took advantage of Ben-Hatira's red card as they took the lead in the 59th minute when Ranisav Jovanovic met Thomas Broker's cross to give the hosts a 4-2 aggregate lead.
Ramos played in strike partner Raffael who stroked the ball past Ratajczak for Berlin to force a tight finish to the game but Dusseldorf held on to secure a place in the Bundesliga.
Callum Mulvihill
