"Pure relief": Magdeburg overwinters above the line

Baris Atik (l) celebrates three points at the Betzenberg / Photo: Uwe Anspach/dpa

Magdeburg takes ten out of twelve points from the last four games. On the anniversary of the attack on Magdeburg's Christmas market, FCM wins in Kaiserslautern and leaves the relegation zone.

With ten points out of a possible twelve, 1. FC Magdeburg have now left the relegation zone in Bundesliga 2. On the first anniversary of the attack on the Magdeburg Christmas market, the team won 3:2 (2:0) at 1. FC Kaiserslautern and gave the supporters a small reason to celebrate on this difficult day.

"It wasn't easy to play soccer that day. We're glad that we were able to give a little something back to all those who lost loved ones who are now grieving in Magdeburg," said FCM coach Petrik Sander. Torsten Lieberknecht, coach of hosts Kaiserslautern, called it "a disgrace to make the appointment today and not listen to 1. FC Magdeburg". There had been some discussion beforehand about the date of the match on the anniversary.

The FCM fans had shown a choreography reminiscent of the attack and the Magdeburg team wore mourning florals. On the pitch, the visitors continued their upward trend of recent weeks and took advantage of their first chance to take the lead through Baris Atik (22 minutes). Mateusz Zukowski (35') and Alexander Nollenberger (49') added to their tally before FCM let the game slip away for ten minutes and Kaiserslautern closed the gap.

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"To put in a performance like that for four matchdays in a row after the tough last few months is something the fans naturally appreciate," explained playmaker Atitk. Magdeburg's three goalscorers are representative of the FCM's upturn in fortunes under Petrik Sander. The Pole Zukowski in particular, who FCM signed despite a broken metatarsal, has settled in well in the attack - in 428 minutes of play, the 24-year-old has scored four goals and is Magdeburg's top scorer.

"It was pure relief to go into the winter break with three points," added Atik. For FCM, it is now a matter of maintaining their good form over the short break and continuing to score points in the games against their direct rivals in the fight against relegation. The first match on January 16 is away to Eintracht Braunschweig, followed by Dynamo Dresden at the Avnet Arena. Further fine-tuning will take place at the training camp from 3 to 10 January in Side, Turkey.