Disciplined defending, taking a chance up front: 1. FC Magdeburg scored three highly important points in the relegation battle in the 2nd Bundesliga. In front of 25,187 spectators, Magdeburg beat league leaders FC St. Pauli 1:0 (0:0). Baris Atik (73) scored the only goal of the game. It was the FCM's first win against the Hamburgers at the ninth attempt.
Christian Titz made four changes to the Magdeburg starting XI. In particular, the recently suspended and sick players returned to the starting eleven. Emir Kuhinja, goalscorer against Kiel, was once again on the bench, while Luca Schuler started in the center of the attack. In the duel between the teams with the highest possession in the league, FCM initially had the ball more often, but the league leaders from Hamburg had much more pace on goal. Johannes Eggestein (5') missed the early lead, Magdeburg hardly found a way into the opponent's penalty area in the opening phase.
Magdeburg's desire to stress the opponent rarely worked - but after winning the ball in the visitors' half, Herbert Bockhorn (13') was free in front of goal, but St. Pauli keeper Nikola Vasilj saved from an acute angle. The game went on like this for a while, with FCM relying on long balls towards Schuler and Xavier Amaechi, but nothing more than half-chances (24th, 25th) emerged. St. Pauli had taken a time-out after the pressure-filled opening phase and waited for Magdeburg to make mistakes, only becoming more active again after 35 minutes. Neither team found the key to the game, meaning the hosts went into the break without scoring - a partial success for the hosts.
