Matchday 25 results
Hamburg 4-1 Fortuna Düsseldorf
Goals: 1-0 Muheim 7′, 1-1 Kownacki 18′, 2-1 Selke 40′, 3-1 Karabec 66′ 4-1 Stange 90+4
Hamburg raced to a big win against their promotion-chasing rivals to reclaim top spot. A marvellous Miro Muheim strike from 30 yards out set the tone in the opening stages. Despite Dawid Kownacki equalising against the run of play, a superb Davie Selke restored the hosts’ lead before the break – and they then made their dominance count with two second-half strikes.
Darmstadt 3-0 Karlsruhe
Goals: 1-0 Lidberg 10′, 2-0 Corredor 73′, 3-0 Papela 79′
Darmstadt put more distance between themselves and the relegation zone as they comfortably beat Karlsruhe at home. The visitors had the best early chances and hit the crossbar through Marcel Franke, but the Lillies were soon in front via Isac Lidberg’s effort. Darmstadt had to wait a while before they put the game to bed, but goals from Killian Corredor and Merveille Papela secured the points. The hosts have now won back-to-back home games, while this was Karlsruhe’s biggest defeat of the season.
Kaiserslautern 1-1 Elversberg
Goals: 1-0 Ache 41′, 1-1 Damar 75′
Promotion hopefuls Kaiserslautern and Elversberg shared the spoils at the Fritz-Walter-Stadion. The away team were initially the more dangerous of the two teams, but it was Ragnar Ache’s wonder goal that gave Kaiserslautern the advantage. Elversberg responded well, though, and equalised through Muhammad Damar after the interval. Neither side could find a winner, which means that both outfit remain separated by just three points in the table as Kaiserslautern were unable to put real pressure on Hamburg at the summit.
Greuther Fürth 1-1 Magdeburg
Goals: 1-0 Futkeu 17’, 1-1 Atik 20’
There was no seperating the two sides in a hard-fought meeting in Fürth, which eventually finished in a 1-1 draw. The game began at a frantic pace with Greuther Fürth taking the lead after 17 minutes through Noel Futkeu after Julian Green had timed his run from midfield to perfection to create the chance. However, their joy was short lived as Magdeburg immediately answered back through Baris Atik. Neither side was able to then press home their advantage and take all three points, as Magdeburg missed out on the chance to move top and Greuther were unable to boost their promotion chances.
Ulm 0-1 Cologne
Goals: 0-1 Waldschmidt 86′
Cologne ended a three-game winless run as they narrowly defeated Ulm 1-0 away from home, moving back into the automatic promotion places in the process. The Billy Goats started well but appeared to fade, while Ulm mostly stood firm as they frustrated the promotion-chasers. They did hit the post, yet it was the visitors who ultimately stole the points through Luca Waldschmidt, who ended Cologne’s three-hour wait for a Bundesliga 2 goal with his eighth shot of the match. While the result boosts Effzeh’s promotion bid, Ulm remain in the relegation zone.
Hertha Berlin 1-2 Schalke
Goals: 0-1 Kalas 27′, 1-1 Reese 51′, 1-2 Karaman 55′
Schalke got the better of their hosts, leaving Hertha just four points clear of the bottom three before three of the four teams below them had kicked a ball. The visitors took the lead inside the first half hour as Tomas Kalas rose highest at the back post to head home Paul Seguin’s deep corner. It gave Schalke a deserved lead at the break but the hosts improved quickly after the interval and were soon level thanks to Fabian Reese’s bursting run and clinical finish past Loris Karius. Parity lasted just four minutes, though, as Pape Meïssa Ba was brought down in the box and Kenan Karaman cooly converted from the penalty spot to seal all three points.
