Magdeburg discovers crosses and headers

Hope for first home win

The extra creativity also gives hope that the first home win of the season can finally come against Paderborn. The discrepancy between home (5 points) and away performances (19 points) is striking. "Maybe some people can't cope with the pressure at home," suspected Atik, but immediately dismissed the idea. "Of course we want to win games at home and have to turn the tide," said the attacker.

In fact, Magdeburg's home and away performances are not so different, although the Elbe club often benefit from the extra space the hosts provide away from home. In Magdeburg, on the other hand, many opponents rely on a compact defense in which FCM has difficulty finding gaps.

The visitors' transition game is likely to play a key role against league leaders Paderborn. FCM mistakes like the one that led to the 1:1 equalizer, when the defence allowed itself to be taken by surprise by Münster and Silas Gnaka lost sight of goalscorer Joshua Mees, must not happen. "I know goals happen through mistakes and our players also make mistakes under stress in the game, but he lets him run away twice - then it becomes difficult to defend," said an annoyed FCM coach Christian Titz.