Kevin Volland (C) of Leverkusen vies with Gelson Fernandes (R) of Frankfurt during the Bundesliga soccer match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Eintracht Frankfurt at BayArena on April 14, 2018 in Leverkusen, Germany. (Xinhua/Joachim Bywaletz)
BERLIN, April 14 (Xinhua) -- Bayer Leverkusen crushed Eintracht Frankfurt 4-1 after Kevin Volland provided a second half hat rick meanwhile Hertha Berlin came from behind to increase Cologne's relegation worries following a 2-1 at the 30th round in Bundesliga on Saturday.
The "Werkself" grabbed a vital victory for their UEFA Champions League ambitions as they overcame rivals Frankfurt, who wait for a win since three games.
Niko Kovac's men assumed control of the ball from the start but the "Eagles" were unable to pose any threat in the opening period.
Leverkusen focused on fast breaks as Kevin Volland came close twice before Julian Brandt opened the scoring with 20 minutes played after tapping home Kai Havertz' square pass from near range.
It was however a short-lived joy for the hosts as Frankfurt restored parity when Marco Fabian overcame Leverkusen's goalkeeper Bernd Leno into the top right corner three minutes later.
After the restart, Leverkusen took the reins and rattled the woodwork with seven minutes into the second half through Leon Bailey before Volland tested Frankfurt's goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky.
The host's efforts paid off as Volland secured the 2-1 lead in the 71st minute after tapping home Havert's through ball. The German international remained in the thick of things as he doubled the lead following the assistance of Karim Bellarabi in the 77th minute.
Even though Leverkusen's third goal put the result beyond doubt, Volland wasn't done with the scoring and wrapped up his hat trick after Bellarabi's second assist of the day in the dying minutes of the game.
With the victory, Leverkusen cemented their 4th place, which would guarantee a direct Champions League berth, whereas Frankfurt slipped to the 6th place for the moment.
Hertha Berlin bounced back and increased Cologne's relegation worries after a 2-1 victory on home soil.
The "Billy Goats" are desperately in need of points hence they staged a lively start on the road against Berlin.
Cologne's offensively minded performance was rewarded with the first chance of the game through Yayo Osako, who headed into the arms of Berlin custodian Rune Jarstein in the 12th minute.
Jarstein was hapless at the half hour mark as Leonardo Bittencourt shrugged off Mitchel Weiser to slot home the opener and his second goal of the season from the inside the box.
The hosts ensured a bright start into the second half when Davie Selke levelled the scores right footed with four minutes into the second half.
Things went from bad to worse for relegation threated Cologne as Selke turned the tides, poking home Marwin Plattenhardt's build up work three minutes later.
Cologne pressed forward but Hertha Berlin killed the clock and protected their narrow lead to the end.
With the result, last placed Cologne will need a miracle to maintain their top-flight status with just four games to spare and nine points to safety. Meanwhile, Berlin returned to winning ways and moved on the 9th position.
Elsewhere, Hoffenheim overcame relegation threatened Hamburg 2-0 to eye for a berth in UEFA Europa League and Hannover snatched a late 1-1 draw at Stuttgart as Niclas Fuellkrug's last-grasp equalizer cancelled out Erik Thommy's second half opener for Stuttgart.
The following fixtures are scheduled for Sunday: runner up Schalke host third-placed Borussia Dortmund for the "Revierderby" and Werder Bremen clash with Leipzig. Enditem
