BERLIN: Schalke 04 put one foot in the Champions League next season while leaving Cologne on the brink of Bundesliga relegation with a 2-2 draw in a thunderstorm on Sunday.

Hosts Cologne needed a win to keep alive any realistic hopes of survival but Breel Embolo scored for Schalke after just four minutes as the rain poured down and Yevhen Konoplyanka added a second as conditions worsened.

Cologne captain Jonas Hector set up Leonardo Bittencourt’s goal minutes later but Schalke kept control of the game until Marcel Risse raised hopes of a fairytale ending when he equalised with a fierce free-kick in the 84th minute.

It was as good as it got for Cologne, now eight points from safety with three games remaining and the worst goal difference in the league.

Schalke consolidated second place, seven points clear of fifth-placed Hoffenheim. The top four qualify for the Champions League and Domenico Tedesco’s side need to win one of their remaining three games to be sure of reaching Europe’s premier competition.

Earlier, Iceland international Alfred Finnbogason set up one goal and scored another as Augsburg made sure of another season in the top division with a 2-0 victory over Mainz 05, who are anchored in 15th on 30 points, along with VfL Wolfsburg in 14th and 16th-placed Freiburg.

Published in Dawn, April 24th, 2018