Davie Selke spared Hamburg's blushes against Preußen Münster. - © Christof Koepsel

2. Bundesliga

Bundesliga 2, Matchday 21 highlights: Hamburg come from behind to beat Münster, Cologne topple Schalke to stay top

07.02.2025

Hamburg needed to come from behind to beat Preußen Münster, before Cologne toppled Schalke to maintain first place – all this and more on another nail-biting Bundesliga 2 weekend.

Matchday 21 results

Preußen Münster 1-2 Hamburg
Goals: 1-0 Frenkert (24'), 1-1 Selke (45'+4), 1-2 Selke (90'+4)

A Davie Selke double extended Hamburg's unbeaten streak to nine consecutive league games and maintain their promotion tilt. They were forced to come from behind, however, when Lukas Frenkert gave the home side the lead against the run of play. HSV refused to panic though and were level at the interval after Selke's header on the stroke of half-time. It remained a largely one-sided encounter in the second period but it wasn't until stoppage time at Hamburg sealed the win, Selke scoring from the penalty spot after he himself had been fouled inside the box.

Cologne 1-0 Schalke
Goal: 1-0 Downes 43'

It was far from pretty, but Cologne bagged a huge victory against Schalke on Matchday 21 that maintains their position atop Bundesliga 2. The home side had just 36 percent possession and scored a goal even ardent Billy Goats would label lucky, coming courtesy of a catastrophic error from Schalke defender Mehmet Aydin – Linton Maina taking advantage of a poor back pass to hand Damion Downes a simple tap-in. Dogged defending delivered a sixth 1-0 win of the season. Schalke remain 14th.

Hannover 1-1 Fortuna Düsseldorf
Goals: 0-1 van Brederode 26', 1-1 Röchelt 35'

The share of the points does little for either side's push to break into the promotion places, but it was a fair result given that both sides defended extremely well after scoring well-crafted goals early in the piece. Fortuna broke the deadlock thanks to Dutch star Myron van Brederode's precise finish, but their lead was short-lived given Jannik Rochelt's bundled reply nine minutes later. Fortuna sit tight in fifth while Hosts Hannover drop to seventh.

Hertha Berlin 0-1 Kaiserslautern
Goals: 0-1 Sirch (57’)

Lautern came to the capital with the opportunity to go level on points with HSV at the top of the table. But it was the hosts who dominated the first half and much of the game, creating chance after chance as club captain Fabian Reese put in an electric performance after returning from injury to make his first start of the campaign. Lautern were a different side after the break though, coming back out and scoring the decisive goal just before the hour mark as a powerful effort from Luca Sirch nestled in the bottom corner. Hertha tried to find a way back into it, but the Red Devils were too defensively solid and held onto their clean sheet and all three points.

Magdeburg 3-4 Nuremberg
Goals: 1-0 Karafiát (5'), 1-1 Mathisen (27'), 1-2 Knoche (30'), 1-3 Hugonet (o.g. 33'), 2-3 Kaars (72'), 3-3 Hugonet (78'), 3-4 Justvan (90'+4)

High-flying Magdeburg were brought back down to earth in a seven-goal thriller at home to Nuremberg. Miroslav Klose's men made the early running and were 3-1 up at half-time, but a second-half fight-back from the home side saw the scores level at 3-3 with just minutes to go. Cue Julian Justvan, who curled home an injury-time winner to hand Nuremberg all three points and take them to ninth place while Magdeburg stay third on goal difference alone.

Darmstadt 0-3 Elversberg
Goals: 0-1 Fellhauer (12’), 0-2 Neubauer (42’), 0-3 Asllani (64’)
Red card: Nürnberger (76’)

Elversberg ended a run of four games without a win with a display of clinical finishing at Darmstadt, who themselves have now only earned one point from their last five outings. A rocket from captain Robin Fellhauer broke the deadlock inside a quarter of an hour before Maurice Neubauer doubled the advantage shortly before half-time, sweeping in at the far post. They added a third after the hour mark when Fisnik Asllani brought up his 11th goal of the campaign. To rub salt into the Darmstadt wounds, they had Fabian Nürnberger sent off with a straight red in the latter stages. The win gets Elversberg back within touching distance of the promotion spots.

Ulm 0-2 Paderborn
Goals: 0-1 Mehlem (81'), 0-2 Grimaldi (90'+7)
Red card: Dressel (50')

Paderborn had on-loan midfielder Marvin Mehlem to thank for earning them all three points against a battling Ulm side who were ultimately undone by a 50th minute sending off. Hoping to get back among the promotion challengers and shake off a run of just one victory in six games, Lukas Kwasniok's side made hard work of their encounter against their relegation-threatened opponents. Indeed, if it weren't for Dennis Dressel's dismissal early in the second half, Ulm may have held out for a point against a Paderborn side struggling to find a breakthrough. In the end, Mehlem's first headed goal in the division set the visitors up for three precious points, before Adriano Grimaldi sealed the deal at the end.

Karlsruhe 0-2 Eintracht Braunschweig
Goals: 0-1 Szabó 36' (pen.), 0-2 Tempelmann 74'

With a little more composure in front of goal, Karlsruhe could have won this game comfortably. The home side had two-thirds of the ball and countless shots at goal, yet come away with nothing. Braunschweig, who defended magnificently throughout, delivered two sucker punches in the form of a Levente Szabó penalty that almost dribbled into the net and a breakaway, finished by Lino Tempelmann, that killed the hosts off in the second half. A massive three points for relegation-threatened Braunschweig.

Greuther Fürth 2-1 Jahn Regensburg
Goals: 0-1 Adamyan (6'), 1-1 Consbruch (31'), 1-2 Srbeny (37')
Sent off: Patz (90'+3)

Fürth earned a huge win in the context of the relegation battle in a six-pointer with bottom club Regensburg. The visitors took an early lead through winter signing Sargis Adamyan but it was the hosts who remained the better team and they duly turned the match on its head with a pair of quickfire goals. Jomaine Consbruch was gifted the equaliser after mis-hit defensive clearance, while Dennis Srbeny's deflected long-range strike moments later swung momentum further the way of the Clover Leaves, who held on to three vital points that gives them some breathing space above the drop zone.