One standard too many: Magdeburg slips to relegation place

Relegation place instead of climbing the table. 1. FC Magdeburg are still deep in the fight against relegation in the 2nd Bundesliga. The FCM lost 2-0 (0-1) against Arminia Bielefeld in front of 23,759 spectators. Maximilian Bauer (32) and Benjamin Boakye (88) scored for the visitors. Magdeburg slipped to 16th place behind rivals Preußen Münster, who are level on points, due to their poorer goal difference.

"We must have trained 800 balls into the penalty area during the week. That's simply not good enough," said annoyed central defender Marcus Mathisen afterwards. "Now we have to train standards again next week, that's simply crucial. It's 0-0 and then you concede a goal like that," he complained.

Another goal conceded after a corner

The FCM went into the match against their table-topping neighbors from Bielefeld with the same formation that had picked up three points in Fürth. The visitors started briskly and scored an early crossbar goal from Stefano Russo (3'). Magdeburg found it difficult to break free, but scored their first goal after a counter-attack. However, Zukowski's shot missed the target.

After that, Bielefeld pulled back. Magdeburg gritted their teeth against the East Westphalians' defense, causing the game to become increasingly flat. The FCM got Bielefeld back into attacking mode with a misplaced pass from Tobias Müller. Shortly afterwards, Bauer headed the ball into the lead.

Magdeburg lacking penetration

After the restart, Magdeburg initially barely got out of their own half. That improved as the second half progressed, but the Blue & Whites continued to lack clear-cut finishes. The best opportunity fell to Baris Atik, whose free-kick landed on the crossbar. Substitute Richmond Tachie (68') was denied by the goalkeeper and Darius Stalmach's (69') cross failed to find a teammate.

Magdeburg lacked the necessary finishing power in the following minutes. The Elbe club did manage to get into the dangerous areas, but remained too harmless. In the end, Bielefeld even added to their tally on the counterattack.