WOLFSBURG, Germany (AP) — Christian Eriksen is one game away from being relegated from the Bundesliga against Wolfsburg after Thursday’s goalless draw with second-tier Paderborn in the first playoff leg.
Eriksen is He signed a two-year contract when he joined Wolfsburg. Back in September, they probably never imagined that they would be in danger of being relegated to Germany’s second division at the end of their first season.
However, if Paderborn wins the second leg of the promotion/relegation play-off at home on Monday, 2009 Bundesliga champions Wolfsburg will drop out of a division for the first time since they were promoted to the top flight in 1997.
Paderborn are aiming to return to the Bundesliga after being relegated in 2020 after one season in the top flight.
In the playoffs at the end of the season, the third-place team from the bottom of the Bundesliga and the third-place team from the second division play against each other to determine which team will play in the first division next season.
Wolfsburg defeated St. Pauli in the final round of the Bundesliga, relegating the Hamburg-based side to the second division and clinching a place in the play-offs, while Paderborn beat Darmstadt and took advantage of the points from Hannover to secure promotion.
Paderborn had an early chance through Santiago Castaneda, but otherwise Wolfsburg made another point in the first half, with Paderborn goalkeeper Dennis Seimen denying a one-on-one with Adam Dagim.
However, as the match progressed, nerves also played a role. Paderborn’s Filip Birbier had a shot cleared over the goal in the closing stages.
Paderborn defender Jonah Stecker will miss the second leg after receiving two cautions and being sent off in the final minutes of stoppage time.
Paderborn, a city east of Dortmund in West Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia state, will be participating in the playoffs for the first time, and Wolfsburg will face off for the third time after beating Eintracht Braunschweig in 2017 and Holstein Kiel the following year.
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