Decision Monday

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In the fight for the last ticket for the 2026/27 Bundesliga season, VfL Wolfsburg and SC Paderborn separated with a draw. The hard-fought match in the Volkswagen Arena ended in a goalless draw. In the first leg of the relegation, the Lower Saxony team had more chances, but could not win the match because SCP goalkeeper Dennis Seimen had a good day. The decision will be made on Monday in Paderborn.

Reaching these relegation matches would be a success for both teams, Wolfsburg coach Dieter Hecking predicted. His VfL was in a direct relegation zone until the 32nd day. The Paderborn team only climbed to third place in the second division season finale. But at first, only foreigners seemed confident. Paderborn could have taken the lead in the 9th minute when Santiago Castaneda shot from close range after a corner. But Wolfsburg defender Jeanuel Belocian and goalkeeper Kamil Grabara cleared the ball together on the goal line.

The second division team defended in a disciplined manner, acted very confidently with the ball and also benefited from the fact that Wolfsburg avoided taking risks from the first of the 180 minutes of relegation. VfL struggled more than expected after the previous successful weeks and only became more dominant after half an hour. Adam Daghim missed his best chance in the 32nd minute when he suddenly appeared free in front of the Paderborn goal after a through ball from Mattias Svanberg, but was denied by goalkeeper Dennis Seimen.

Otherwise, VfL only had half-chances before the break: a long shot from Denis Vavro (23rd). A great attack on the right, at the end of which Joakim Maehle failed to hit the ball (30th). A dangerously deflected cross from Christian Eriksen (43rd). The atmosphere in the Volkswagen Arena was louder and more energetic than ever. The matches of the last few weeks have brought the fans and the team together again.

He almost celebrated for the first time in the 51st minute. But once again Paderborn goalkeeper Seimen stood in the way of the speedy Daghim. This time, he cleared a cross from the Dane. In front of the goal, two Wolfsburg attackers were best placed to wait for this ball. What spoke in VfL’s favor that evening was that they never lost patience and structure and therefore continued to increase the pressure. Unlike before the break, almost all Paderborn counterattacks were now stopped midway. The guests could barely breathe.

A header from Daghim (63rd), a free kick from Eriksen (67th), everything was too harmless. The offensive replacements of Mohammed Amoura and Lovro Majer changed nothing. The Wolfsburg team did not exploit these enormous qualitative advantages sufficiently that evening. In the end, VfL was even lucky when Filip Bilbija missed Paderborn’s second big opportunity (84th).