1. FC Magdeburg kicked off the second half of the 2. Bundesliga strongly with a 3:0 win over Eintracht Braunschweig. Fortuna Düsseldorf secured a late 1:0 victory against Arminia Bielefeld, leaving the relegation zone.
Eintracht Braunschweig - 1. FC Magdeburg 0:3 (0:1)
- FC Magdeburg started the second half of the season ideally after the winter break. In the away game at Eintracht Braunschweig, FCM won convincingly 3:0. The goals were scored by Mateusz Zukowski in the 41st minute, Baris Atik in the 79th, and Maximilian Breunig in the 90th minute. This victory helped Magdeburg climb out of the lower table ranks. Both teams have 20 points after matchday 18, but Magdeburg sits 13th due to a better goal difference.
Eintracht Braunschweig ended a run of four unbeaten games before the year-end break. The home side struggled but couldn't contain Magdeburg's strong attack.
Fortuna Düsseldorf - Arminia Bielefeld 1:0 (0:0)
Fortuna Düsseldorf celebrated their second home win in a row, defeating Arminia Bielefeld 1:0. The decisive goal came in the 86th minute from Cedric Itten, his seventh of the season. In front of 39,304 spectators, Düsseldorf left the relegation zone and moved to 14th place. Bielefeld, winless in eight away games, dropped into the relegation playoff spot.
The hosts started strongly: Itten headed just over in the 7th minute. In the second half, Anouar El Azzouzi created chances for Düsseldorf (47th and 57th minutes), while Marius Wörl (64th) missed Bielefeld's best opportunity. In the first leg, Düsseldorf had led 1:0 but lost 1:5.
These results signal a strong return for the winners, putting pressure on Braunschweig and Bielefeld.
