Schalke relegated to Bundesliga 2 after defeat to Arminia Bielefeld
Schalke have been relegated from the Bundesliga for the first time since 1988 following their 1-0 defeat to Arminia Bielefeld on Matchday 30.
The result marked the Royal Blues' 21st loss of the current campaign and leaves them bottom of the Bundesliga standings with just 13 points on the board. As such, they are 13 adrift of Hertha Berlin, who currently occupy the relegation play-off spot, meaning it is no longer possible for Dimitrios Grammozis's side to avoid the drop.
This is just the fourth time Schalke have been relegated from the top-flight in their history, following on from 1981, 1983 and 1988, since which point they have been in the Bundesliga without interruption.
A founding member of the league in 1963, they have only spent five seasons in Bundesliga 2, and even finished as runners-up to Bayern Munich as recently as the 2017/18 season.
The current campaign got off to a bad start, however, with an 8-0 thumping away to Bayern. Grammozis is the team's fifth head coach in 2020/21, following David Wagner, Manuel Baum, Huub Stevens and Christian Gross. Several experienced players were recruited during the winter transfer window in a bid to help turn the tide, including Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Sead Kolasinac and Shkodran Mustafi, but just two wins since the start of the year were not enough to secure survival.
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