2. Bundesliga

Bundesliga 2, Matchday 17 overview: Schalke thrash Elversberg, Hamburg beat Greuther Fürth, Cologne beat Kaiserslautern to capture top spot

21.12.2024

Cologne clinched a narrow victory over Kaiserslautern to end 2024 top of Bundesliga 2 in the pick of the year-ending fixtures. Elsewhere, surprise leaders Elversberg were handed a heavy defeat by Schalke, and Hamburg claimed a handsome win over Greuther Fürth.

Matchday 17 results

Kaiserslautern 0-1 Cologne
Goals: 0-1 Ljubicic 33'

The hosts missed out on the opportunity to become Autumn champions, insteading seeing the crown go to their opponents after an entertaing clash that ended in a narrow defeat. Cologne started the game on the front foot, taking advantage of a slow start from the hosts who were perhaps still shaken from their heavy defeat to Darmstadt last time out. The pressure eventually paid off for the visitors, who went into the break one goal ahead thanks to a Dejan Ljubicic header. The hosts rediscovered their rhythm in the second-half and looked far better, but were still unable to create the clear-cut chance they would need to get back into the game. Cologne saw out the game with their slender lead, meaning they top the table going into the winter break.

Elversberg 1-4 Schalke
Goals: 0-1 Karaman (11'), 1-1 Sickinger (25'), 1-2 Sylla (55'), 1-3 Schallenberg (67'), 1-4 Sylla (75')

League leaders Elversberg fell to a shock defeat at home to Schalke, the visitors running away with it in the second half thanks notably to a brace from Moussa Sylla. The hosts had rescued their chances by responding to Kenan Karaman's early opener with a leveller from captain Carlo Sickinger before the break, but they created far too little in the second period to hope for a point.

Watch: Highlights of Schalke's win in Elversberg

Fortuna Düsseldorf 2-5 Magdeburg
Goals: 0-1 Kars (11'), 1-1 Jóhannesson (15'), 1-2 Rossmann (42'), 2-2 Atik (67'), 2-3 Kaars (70'), 2-4 El Hankouri (87'), 2-5 Hercher (90'+4)
Red card: Rossmann (77')

Although it looked at one point as though Fortuna had turned the match on its head by making it 2-1 after conceding the opener, a red card for goalscorer Tim Rossmann did little for the hosts' chances of a result as Magdeburg hit the jets in the second half to leave the result in no doubt whatsoever. With five different goalscorers and relentless pace, Magdeburg showed that they can figure heavily in the promotion picture this season and they leapfrog Fortuna in the standings. Some fans left the stadium early following reports of a car having been driven into a Christmas market in Magdeburg.

Hamburg 5-0 Greuther Fürth
Goals: 1-0 Hadžikadunić (1’), 2-0 Selke (11’,) 3-0 Karabec (13’), 4-0 Selke (59’), 5-0 Stange (76’)

Hamburg ended 2024 with a strong performance and a convincing victory over Greuther Fürth. The Rothosen (Red Shorts) took a three-goal lead in the first half before Davie Selke completed his brace just before the hour mark and 17-year old Otto Stange came off the bench to open his Hamburg account to put the gloss on a great victory for Merlin Polzin's side. The visitors may feel the scoreline was a little too high, but ultimately, they were second best at the Volksparkstadion.

Watch: Highlights of HSV's big win over Fürth

Paderborn 1-2 Karlsruhe
Goals: 0-1 Jung (16’), 0-2 Zivzivadze (35’), 1-2 Obermair (pen. 45’)

Both sides came into the final game of the year knowing that victory would send them top of the table at least overnight. Pre-matchday joint-leaders Paderborn started brightest, but soon found themselves behind against the run of play when Sebastian Jung tapped in a loose ball following Budu Zivzivadze’s miscued shot. The home side continued to dominate and had a Tjark Scheller effort cleared off the line, but Karlsruhe went straight up the other end to grab a second as Zivzivadze dispossessed goalkeeper Markus Schubert and rolled the ball into the empty net for his 12th goal of the campaign. Paderborn were then handed a lifeline when awarded a penalty upon VAR review, with captain Raphael Obermair converting just before half-time. Chances came and went for both sides after the restart, but neither could make one stick as it remained 2-1 and Karlsruhe took preliminary pole with four games left to play this weekend. Paderborn dropped from third to sixth.

Nuremberg 1-0 Eintracht Braunschweig
Goals: 1-0 Tzimas (49')
Red card: Conteh (59')

Nuremberg secured their first win in seven matches to gain an important three points and climb up to 11th. With virtually no chances falling in the opening 30 minutes, the hosts pressed for an opener and finally made the breakthrough shortly after the restart with a thumping Stefanos Tzimas finish. A second yellow card shortly afterwards for Braunschweig's Christian Conteh helped the hosts to take the single-goal lead over the line as Braunschweig went a fourth successive match without scoring.

Preußen Münster 0-0 Ulm

The battle between two promoted sides ended all square, a fair result after both teams showed the kind of finishing that has them at the bottom of the table. Johannes Schenk in the home goal was the game's standout player as Ulm had the better of the play and saw their chances fall to Philipp Strompf. However, Münster earned their point and came closest to taking three through Joel Grodowski in the final minute.

Hannover 0-0 Hertha Berlin
Red cards: Kunze (57'), Dárdai (89')

It ended all square in Hannover between these two sides, in terms of goals (or lack thereof) and red cards. The hosts took the initiative in the first-half, looking the most likely to open the scoring with an energetic performance that gave Hertha little room to breathe. The tide turned in the second-half, however, with Fabian Kunze's second yellow card seeing him dismissed and giving the visitors a route back into the game. Greater attacking momentum didn't result in a goal for Hertha though, who also went down to ten men late on when Márton Dárdai received his second yellow card just moments before the final whistle.

Jahn Regensburg 2-1 Darmstadt
Goals: 1-0 Pröger (65’), 2-0 Ganaus (90’+1), 2-1 Klefisch (90’+3)

An efficient Regensburg performance secured a narrow victory over Darmstadt. After defending well and withstanding the visitors’ pressure for over an hour, Kai Pröger gave the home side the lead with a well-taken cross-goal finish. Noah Ganaus thought he’d put the game to bed when he doubled Regensburg’s advantage, but Darmstadt kept going and halved the arrears almost immediately through an unstoppable Kai Klefisch effort. Despite the Lilies’ late push, Regensburg defended passionately in the final seconds to see out the win.