"Good step made": FCM optimistic despite defeat

Once it's the defense, this time it's the attack: 1. FC Magdeburg's list of deficiencies is long. And that inevitably leads to defeats and the team's current position at the bottom of the Bundesliga 2 table. But despite their fifth defeat in a row, a 1-0 loss at Karlsruher SC, Magdeburg remain relaxed. They still do not want to allow a discussion about the coach. And there are reasons for that.

The fact that the coach doesn't fit is "nonsense. If you've seen the game we've played, you've seen that it can work," captain Dominik Reimann told MDR. "At the moment, we might not have that little bit of luck on our side. But nobody doubted that the coach is the right one for us," added the FCM goalkeeper.

Punished for poor chance conversion

In Karlsruhe, coach Markus Fiedler's team built on the decent performances of the first matchdays of the season and created numerous scoring opportunities - but failed to take the lead. Baris Atik missed the target from a promising position, as did Dariusz Stalmach. The fact that Atik had to be substituted with adductor problems is likely to deepen the worry lines in Magdeburg.

"We took a really good step today. I'm happy with the performance we put in. We had chances to score but didn't reward ourselves - and then to concede a goal by default is particularly bitter," said Fiedler.

"We have to play with conviction"

When the goal was conceded, the positioning in the Magdeburg penalty area did not work. Goal-scorer Christoph Kobald had all the space he needed to shoot high and put the ball in the net. Prior to that, Karlsruhe had also created a number of chances, but not of the same quality as FCM at the other end.

Fiedler and his team must "play again next week with the conviction with which we played this difficult game here today", said the coach. The home game against SV Elversberg - who are in the top flight with 16 points, just like in the previous season - is unlikely to be any easier. FCM must show that the good performance in Karlsruhe was not a flash in the pan, but the start of a trend. And shorten the list of shortcomings.