The frightening away weakness cost FC Schalke 04 a break in the relegation battle of the 2nd Bundesliga. Coach Karel Geraerts’ team lost 3-0 (0-3) at 1. FC Magdeburg on Saturday evening and suffered their third away defeat in a row.
Schalke, in 14th place, is still only four points clear of the relegation zone and has now lost nine of its twelve away games. Thanks to the surprisingly clear success, Magdeburg climbed into secure midfield.
Silas Gnaka (17th minute) opened the Magdeburg goal festival of the first half in front of 27,038 fans. Mohammed El Hankouri (34′) added a penalty with a penalty and in added time Tatsuya Ito (45′) went one better after a great individual effort.
Funkel loses FCK home premiere
At the home premiere of veteran coach Friedhelm Funkel, 1. FC Kaiserslautern suffered a bitter defeat. The Palatinate deservedly lost the southwest derby against Karlsruher SC 0:4 (0:0). While the guests celebrated their first win in Kaiserslautern since 1992, FCK slipped deeper and deeper into the relegation battle.
Kaiserslautern played the game in black jerseys in memory of the former FCK player Andreas Brehme, who died. There was also a minute’s silence before the game. Both teams and the referee team wore mourning ribbon. In front of 49,327 spectators in the sold-out Fritz Walter Stadium, the game was decided within seven minutes. Marvin Wanitzek (51st), Igor Matanovic (58th) and Paul Nebel (82nd) scored the goals for the guests. Budu Zivzivadze (90.1) made the final score in stoppage time.
Hertha missed its third win in a row
Hertha BSC was unable to further support its ambitions. Due to the 1:1 (0:1) draw with relegation candidate Eintracht Braunschweig, the Berliners missed out on getting significantly closer to the promotion places. In front of 22,636 spectators in the Eintracht Stadium, Fabio Kaufmann gave the hosts the lead in the 14th minute, and Ibrahim Maza, who came on as a substitute at half-time, equalized (52′). Braunschweig’s Hasan Kurucay was shown the red card after a serious foul on Palko Dardai (77′).
VfL manages to surprise
The bottom of the table, VfL Osnabrück, surprisingly defeated promotion candidate Hannover 96 and celebrated their first win since the seventh matchday. Coach Uwe Koschinat’s team won 1-0 (0-0) at the Bremer Brücke, which was once again sold out with 15,741 spectators.
Erik Engelhardt scored the goal of the day for VfL (61st minute). Despite the victory, the Osnabrück team remains at the bottom of the table with 15 points. For the recently strong Hanoverians it was the first defeat of the new year and a bitter setback in the promotion race.
