As the only club to have played in every Bundesliga season since its inception in 1963, Hamburg supporters have proudly displayed a clock at Volksparkstadion which keeps a record of their top-flight status.

That will have to be stopped now, however, as a 2-1 home win over Borussia Monchengladbach was not enough to save Hamburg because of Wolfsburg thumping bottom club Cologne 4-1 to secure 16th and a play-off against Holstein Kiel of Bundesliga 2.

Wolfsburg came into the final round still in with a chance of securing 15th spot and guaranteed survival, but Freiburg's 2-0 home win over Augsburg put paid to those hopes.

Hamburg, which had survived the relegation play-offs in 2014 and 2015, was mocked by Gladbach fans, who unfurled their own clock which ticked down towards an impending demotion, and as the game entered stoppage-time a number of home fans hurled flares towards the pitch.

The thick smoke caused the game to be halted for more than 15 minutes while large numbers of police lined up facing the end from which the pyrotechnics had been launched.

With Wolfsburg's win long-since confirmed, referee Felix Brych eventually restarted the game and then immediately blew for full-time, with Hamburg's teary-eyed players applauding their supporters on a lap of honour.

At the opposite end of the table, Hoffenheim defeated Borussia Dortmund 3-1 - a result that proved enough for both sides to secure the remaining two UEFA Champions League places at the expense of Bayer Leverkusen and RB Leipzig.