Eintracht Frankfurt 3 : 1 Hoffenheim - Frankfurt safe after Hoffenheim win

Eintracht Frankfurt ended their six-game wait for a win in style by downing Hoffenheim 3-1 and securing their place in the Bundesliga next season with two games to spare.

Bastian Oczipka, Haris Seferovic and Timothy Chandler had Frankfurt's victory wrapped up within the first 45 minutes, with Kevin Volland netting nothing more than a consolation for Hoffenheim just after the break.

As a result, Hoffenheim now have a mountain to climb if they are to qualify for Europe next season, with both Borussia Dortmund and Werder Bremen two points ahead in the scramble for seventh.

The pre-match build-up had revolved around reports in the German media of a breakdown in communication between Frankfurt coach Thomas Schaaf and his team.

It certainly looked like he was getting his message across somehow, though, as the Eagles destroyed their opponents inside the first 45 minutes.

An opening goal was already in the air when Oczipka provided it with a direct free-kick which Oliver Baumann could not keep out, despite getting his hands to the ball in the 18th minute.

Hofffenheim could have levelled when Adam Szalai was denied in a one-on-one situation by Kevin Trapp and Roberto Firmino headed the loose ball over.

Frankfurt then doubled their advantage in the 27th minute as Marc Stendera spotted Seferovic in space and teed him up to beat Baumann with the outside of his boot.

Goal number three arrived within 10 minutes, with Oczipka's corner headed in by Chandler to complete a half to forget for the visitors.

Some choice words from Hoffenheim coach Markus Gisdol and the introduction of Steven Zuber for Anthony Modeste did the trick with the visitors pulling a goal back early in the second half through Volland.

His direct free-kick was left by Trapp to nestle in the corner of his goal.

Hoffenheim tried to open the game up with Zuber denied by Trapp, suggesting he should have been on the field from the start.

He could not do it all by himself, though, and after Takashi Inui wasted a chance to make it 4-1, the final whistle was met with cheers from the Frankfurt fans, who can look forward to top-flight football again next season.