Magdeburg leaves relegation zone: 3:2 win in Kaiserslautern

1. FC Magdeburg have left the relegation zone in Bundesliga 2. The FCM won 3:2 (2:0) at 1. FC Kaiserslautern on Saturday in front of 45,181 spectators. Baris Atik (22'), Mateusz Zukowski (35') and Alexander Nollenberger (49') scored for FCM before Daniel Hanslik (53') and Marlon Ritter (56', penalty) reduced the deficit. With 17 points, the Elbe club end a complicated first half of the season above the relegation zone, having recently gone four games in a row unbeaten.

"To defend the 3-2 - there was still a relatively long time to play - I take my hat off to our team today for pulling it off. We knew that the points had to come at some point, we played too well for that, even if we lost," said goalscorer Nollenberger.

Coach Petrik Sander brought on former Lauter player Philipp Hercher for Lubambo Musonda (Africa Cup with Zambia) in the starting line-up, but otherwise made no changes. The teams played with mourning flor in memory of the victims of the attack at the Magdeburg Christmas market a year ago. Magdeburg mainly tried to achieve success down the left wing, while the hosts relied on quick switching.

Magdeburg with a strong first half

Kaiserslautern gradually gained more of the play and put Magdeburg under pressure in their half. It was precisely in this phase that FCM took the lead: Atik pushed a botched clearance attempt by Maxwell Gyamfi over the line. Magdeburg then missed the second goal several times before Zukowski's shot from 20 meters was saved. Lauter's protests about an alleged offside position went unheard.

After the break, events came thick and fast: First Nollenberger made it 3:0, then Hanslik scored as Magdeburg lost their grip. Ritter took advantage of a penalty to score the equalizer. In between, Noah Pesch's goal to make it 4:1 was disallowed; the Magdeburg player had been offside. Magdeburg had brought the hosts back into the game with two lapses in concentration, but then managed to calm the game down again and held on to the lead in a heated atmosphere.