Bundesliga 2, Matchday 16: Schalke stay four points clear, Elversberg, Darmstadt and Paderborn all win
Leaders Schalke edged out Nuremberg to guarantee themselves top spot over the winter break as Elversberg, Paderborn and Darmstadt also won in Bundesliga 2's penultimate round of games for 2025.
Matchday 16 results
Schalke 1-0 NurembergGoals: 1-0 V. Becker 52’
After a first half of very little from either side, league leaders Schalke made the ideal start to the second half when Vitalie Becker hammered home a superb left-footed strike after being fed through by Kenan Karaman. Nuremberg then had chances to respond through Luka Lochoshvili and Artem Stepanov, but Loris Karius was always there when Schalke needed him. The win guarantees the Royal Blues will be top of the table for the winter break.
Elversberg 1-0 Fortuna DüsseldorfGoals: 1-0 Stange 79’
Elversberg extended their unbeaten run to four games after edging out Düsseldorf in a tight encounter at home. For all of their possession, it was Nicolas Kristof who was the busiest of the two goalkeepers, pulling off an excellent save to deny Düsseldorf’s Cedric Itten before Jesper Daland struck the crossbar as both teams went into the break level. Christian Rasmussen forced Kristof into another fine save before Elversberg took the lead through Otto Stange, who fired his shot under Florian Kastenmeier as Düsseldorf slipped to a third straight defeat.
Karlsruhe 0-4 Paderborn
Goals: 0-1 Curda 65', 0-2 Curda 71', 0-3 Obermair 78', 0-4 Scheller 87'
Red cards: Schleusener 53', Franke 83'
A sensational second half at the BBBank Wildpark produced four goals and two red cards as hosts Karlsruhe fell to a fifth consecutive loss to promotion-chasing Paderborn. Fabian Schleusener's 53rd minute dismissal for the home side sparked a collapse that led to Laurin Curda netting a quick-fire double. When Raphael Obermair added the visitors' third, it was game over while another red card - this time for Marcel Franke - summed up Christian Eichner's side's frustrations. Tjark Scheller completed the scoring for a Paderborn side who remain just outside the top three on goal difference.
Darmstadt 1-0 Preußen MünsterGoals: 1-0 Corredor 56’
Third-placed Darmstadt stretched their unbeaten run to six games with a narrow 1-0 win over Preußen Münster to secure a valuable three points in the promotion race. It was the visitors who dominated possession in the opening exchanges, but the best chances came for Darmstadt through Patric Pfeiffer and Isac Lidberg, who both struck the post. Florian Kohfeldt’s side were then rewarded after the break when Marco Richter’s shot came back off the crossbar with Killian Corredor reacting quickest to head his side into the lead, netting his fourth Bundesliga 2 goal of the season to inflict defeat on Münster, whose three-game unbeaten streak came to an end.
Greuther Fürth 3-3 Hertha Berlin
Goals: 0-1 Reese 33', 0-2 Schuler 36', 1-2 Hrgota 42', 2-2 Klaus 58', 2-3 Schuler 62', 3-3 Srbeny 81'
Promotion hopefuls Hertha were left kicking themselves after failing to seal the deal against a never-say-die Fürth side. When Fabian Reese and Luca Schuler had the capital club two goals to the good in the first half, the visitors looked home free. However, veteran Greuther striker Branimir Hrgota pulled one back before Felix Klaus levelled the into the second half. The Old Lady bit back, with Schuler celebrating a scoring double, yet Fürth - who picked up a point in Nuremberg on Matchday 15 - were not to be denied, with Dennis Srbeny's goal sealing a valuable point for the Cloverleaves.
Magdeburg 3-3 Holstein Kiel
Goals: 0-1 Zec (pen.) 43', 1-1 Pesch 45'+1, 2-1 Atik 45'+3, 2-2 Zec (pen.) 68', 3-2 Zukowski (pen.) 84', 3-3 Skrzybski 90'+2
A topsy-turvy encounter at the Avnet Arena that was high on drama ended all square. Just three points separted these sides ahead of kick-off and it was Kiel who looked to increase that margin with David Zec's penalty on 43 minutes. Having stunned Hertha last weekend, lowly Magdeburg were at it again by netting twice in first-half injury time, a Noah Pesch worldie preceding Baris Atik's bicycle-kick finish. Another Zec penalty brought parity, but when Mateusz Zukowski then looked to have won it from the spot for the jubilant hosts, Steven Skrzybski's volley ensured the spoils were shared.
Dynamo Dresden 2-3 Eintracht Braunschweig
Goals: 0-1 Conteh 7', 0-2 Conteh 21', 1-2 Lemmer 54', 2-2 Fröling, 2-3 Nkoa 78'
Patrick Nkoa settled a Bundesliga 2 barnstormer at the Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion, with visiting Eintracht extending their unbeaten run to three games and forging up the table. The contest looked settled after Christian Conteh's double had the visitors in command early on. However, Dynamo - looking to bounce back from successive losses - were back in it when Jakob Lemmer netted after the break. The home fans were jubilant when Swedish forward Nils Fröling equalised. Yet Dynamo were left deep in the drop zone following Nkoa's late winner.
Arminia Bielefeld 0-0 Kaiserslautern
The hosts' late surge failed to produce a winner in a game that was low on entertainment at the Bielefelder Alm. Arminia made most of the running as they sought to end a three-game losing sequence and Joel Felix's header with just minutes to go would have provided the spark for Michél Kniat's side but for goalkeeper Julian Krahl's intervention. It finished with Kaiserslautern making it two games without defeat.
Hannover missed out on the chance to go up to third on Saturday night despite dominating at home to Bochum. The hosts had numerous opportunities, only to be denied time and again by an inspired goalkeeping performance from Timo Horn - who dived to prevent Benjamin Källman scoring from the spot at the end of the first half before thwarting Hayate Matsuda. Källman also hit the crossbar on what was an afternoon to forget for the 27-year-old.
Watch: The top 5 goals from Matchday 16
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