05/25/26 05:10:00
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05/25 17:09 CDT Wolfsburg relegated from Bundesliga after playoff defeat in
Paderborn
Wolfsburg relegated from Bundesliga after playoff defeat in Paderborn
PADERBORN, Germany (AP) --- Christian Eriksen and Wolfsburg were relegated from
the Bundesliga on Monday after losing at Paderborn 2-1 in the second leg of
their end-of-season playoff to determine which plays in Germany's top division
next season.
Laurin Curda scored Paderborn's promotion-clinching goal in the 10th minute of
extra time after Wolfsburg played all but the first 13 minutes with 10 players.
It gave Paderborn, which finished third in the second division, a 2-1 win on
aggregate after the teams drew 0-0 in the first leg of their playoff in
Wolfsburg on Thursday.
"I could only cry, I couldn't get my emotions under control at all," Paderborn
midfielder Ruben Mller said of the club's third promotion to the Bundesliga.
"Indescribable, it's unbelievable what's happened here," said Paderborn
goalkeeper Dennis Seimen, who made two late saves to preserve the win.
It's Wolfsburg's first relegation since the Volkswagen-backed club was promoted
to the Bundesliga in 1997. Wolfsburg won the championship in 2009 but has
struggled in recent seasons. It survived playoff deciders against Eintracht
Braunschweig in 2017 and Holstein Kiel the following year and was forced into
another showdown for survival this season after again finishing third from
bottom.
It marks the end of a bitterly disappointing season for Eriksen, the Denmark
star who signed a two-year deal when he joined Wolfsburg in September. Eriksen
captained the side in Paderborn and received commiserations from opposing
players before jubilant home supporters stormed the field to celebrate.
Some Paderborn fans used their plastic beer cups to dig up clumps of grass from
the field to take home, while the beer-soaked players danced and sang.
D?enan Pejcinovic got Wolfsburg off to a great start in the third minute, but
Joakim Mhle was sent off in the 14th with his second yellow card for a foul on
Mattes Hansen, just minutes after he got his first for pushing Filip Bilbija
over for flicking the ball away.
"He feels just as bad," Wolfsburg winger Patrick Wimmer said of Mhle. "He
knows what happened probably shouldn't have happened. But I don't think the
whole team should be ganging up on Joakim. He's had a fantastic season since
coming back from his shoulder injury and done a great job. He was maybe a bit
unlucky today but generally you can see the whole team is lacking in energy."
The sending off arguably changed the course of the game with only Paderborn
pushing forward. Bilbija duly equalized in the 39th with a diving header to
Calvin Brackelmann's header on from a long throw-in.
Sebastian Klaas struck the post around the hour mark and Curda finally made
Paderborn's pressure count when Wolfsburg's defense left him free at the back
post to rifle in substitute Sven Michel's cross.
Paderborn, a city to the east of Dortmund in the west German state of North
Rhine-Westphalia, also earned promotion in 2014 and 2019. Its Bundesliga
appearances were brief after finishing last both seasons.
"We were promoted twice before but we haven't stayed up, yet. We have to make
sure we make good decisions this summer," Paderborn coach Ralf Kettemann said.
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