ELBERSBERG, Germany (AP) – A day after Schalke became German second division champions. decided to promote to the Bundesligathanks for the other results from Sunday’s league.
Paderborn, who were in second place nine points behind Schalke, lost 5-1 to Elversberg.
Elversberg took advantage of a dramatic 3-3 draw between third-place Hannover and last-place Prussia Munster to move into second place, eight points behind Schalke, with two matches remaining.
This means that even if Schalke lose their remaining games against Nuremberg and Eintracht Braunschweig, they are guaranteed to finish top of the division.
Schalke secured promotion to the Bundesliga for the first time in three years with a 1-0 home win against Fortuna Düsseldorf on Saturday.
Elbersburg is in a great position to join the top division. The top two teams will automatically be promoted, and the third-placed team will face a two-leg play-off against the third-placed team from the bottom of the Bundesliga to determine which team will play in the first division next season.
With two matches remaining, Schalke have 67 points, ahead of Elversberg with 59 points, and Hannover and Paderborn both have 58 points. Hannover had a better goal difference. Fifth place Darmstadt (51 points) could no longer catch up with the top four.
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