WOLFSBURG, Germany (AP) — Christian Eriksen is one game away from Bundesliga relegation with Wolfsburg after a scoreless draw with second-division Paderborn in the first leg of their playoff on Thursday.
Eriksen, who signed a two-year deal when he joined Wolfsburg in September, likely didn’t imagine he’d find himself on the verge of demotion to Germany’s second division at the end of his first season.
But if Paderborn wins the second leg of their promotion/relegation playoff at home on Monday, Wolfsburg — the 2009 Bundesliga champion — would drop a division for the first time since it was promoted to the top tier in 1997.
Paderborn is bidding to return to the Bundesliga after it was relegated in 2020 after one season in the top flight.
The end-of-season playoff pits the team that finishes third from bottom in the Bundesliga against the third-place finisher in the second division to determine which will play in the top division the following season.
Wolfsburg clinched its place in the playoff in the final round of the Bundesliga with a win over St. Pauli, sending the Hamburg-based side down to the second division, while Paderborn earned its shot at promotion by beating Darmstadt and capitalizing on dropped points from Hannover.
Santiago Castaneda had an early chance for Paderborn, but otherwise Wolfsburg created more in the first half with Paderborn goalkeeper Dennis Seimen denying Adam Daghim in a one-on-one.
Nerves played a role as the game progressed, however. Paderborn’s Filip Bilbija had an effort cleared off the line late on.
Paderborn defender Jonah Sticker will miss the second leg after being sent off with two bookings in as many minutes in stoppage time.
Paderborn, a city to the east of Dortmund in the west German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, is taking part in the playoff for the first time, while Wolfsburg is navigating the showdown for the third time after wins over Eintracht Braunschweig in 2017 and Holstein Kiel the following year.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Dirk van Ulden said:
Dirk van Ulden said:
DavidKristofferson said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.