wolfsburg got off to the perfect start in the second leg of the relegation playoff, taking the lead inside three minutes. dzenan pejcinovic, capitalizing on a pinpoint cross from adam daghim, put the wolves ahead. however, the early optimism quickly faded as joakim maehle received two yellow cards in rapid succession, first at the 11th minute and then at the 14th, leaving his team with ten men.

despite the numerical disadvantage, wolfsburg managed to maintain their lead for around half an hour. but at the 38th minute, filip bilbija rose highest from a long corner to head an equalizer, sending the match into extra time with the score tied at 1-1.

the deadlock remained until the dying seconds of the extra period. on the stroke of the 99th minute, laurin curda exploited space on the left wing, delivered a cross into the box, and found himself unmarked before slotting the ball past kamil grabara to seal paderborn’s victory and send the club back to the top flight for the first time since 2019-2020.

christian eriksen and his teammates were powerless to prevent the defeat. wolfsburg will now compete in the 2.bundesliga next season, marking their first relegation in nearly three decades. paderborn, meanwhile, have scripted one of the most remarkable upsets in recent german football history.