"Nothing achieved": Magdeburg does not fall into euphoria

Magdeburg's players were relieved after 17 minutes of stoppage time. But the mental exhaustion was also palpable. The past few weeks have left their mark. And the 3:0 victory against 1. Nürnberg had its rarity value. "Football is sometimes inexplicable - and that's the beauty of it," said coach Petrik Sander of 1. FC Magdeburg. Although the Elbe club remain bottom of the table, they are still in touch with the non-relegation places.

As has often been the case recently, FCM were the superior team against the Franconians, created the better scoring chances and did not allow the visitors to pose a goal threat for long periods. The decisive difference compared to the last three games: Magdeburg made the most of three of their scoring opportunities, winning confidently and deservedly.

Home debutant Zukowski scores a brace

Mateusz Zukowski (73-90+6) once again stood out from a decent attacking performance with his brace. In just two games, the Pole has drawn level with FCM's top scorers to date and also has two goals to his name. Maximilian Breunig (90.+10) scored the final goal in stoppage time after coming on as a substitute. His 4:0 was disallowed for offside - but that didn't dampen the celebrations of players and fans alike.

The match began with an extraordinary fan protest: Both fan camps left the blocks empty for the first twelve minutes, and there was even half an hour of silence. "It's always brutally loud here; when the stands are empty, it does something to a player," said Philipp Hercher. When the fans returned, FCM improved almost immediately and could have taken the lead - through Hercher - before the break.

That only happened after a 13-minute stoppage in play because the smoke simply wouldn't clear after the use of pyrotechnics by both fan groups shortly after the break. Despite all the joy about the three-pointer, winger Hercher categorized the victory: "We haven't achieved anything yet. We have to recover quickly because the next game is on Tuesday." They have nothing to lose in the DFB Cup at RB Leipzig, "the important thing is that we keep going in the league and get as many points as possible until the winter," said Hercher.