Paderborn pulled off a remarkable comeback to reach the Bundesliga for the third time in their history, beating ten-man Wolfsburg 2-1 after extra time in the second leg of the relegation play-off. The result ends Wolfsburg’s remarkable run of 29 consecutive seasons in the top flight, the first relegation in the club’s history.
Wolfsburg made the perfect start, going ahead inside three minutes when Joakim Maehle’s long ball released Adam Daghim down the left, and his cutback was coolly side-footed into the bottom corner by Dzenan Pejcinovic.
However, their evening quickly unravelled when Maehle was shown two yellow cards in quick succession, first for a scuffle and then for a dangerous challenge, leaving Wolfsburg with ten men earlier in a Bundesliga play-off than had ever been seen before.
Paderborn took full advantage and dominated from that point on. After a string of chances, they drew level when Calvin Brackelmann flicked on a long throw into the path of Filip Bilbija, who buried a diving header from close range.
The hosts continued to pour forward after the break but could not find a way through despite an extraordinary 31 shots in normal time. Sven Michel hit the post with a header right at the end of the 90 minutes to send the match into extra time.
The breakthrough finally came just before the 100-minute mark. Michel’s cross to the far post found Laurin Curda completely unmarked, and he kept his composure to volley home the winner. Paderborn held on from there to seal a famous victory.
It was a brilliant achievement for manager Ralf Kettemann in his first season in charge, with Paderborn becoming only the second second-division side to win the relegation play-off in the past 15 years. For Wolfsburg, despite the efforts of manager Dieter Hecking since his appointment in March, their long stay in the Bundesliga is over.
