2. Bundesliga
Goals from Mo El Hankouri, Baris Atik and Julian Rieckmann secured an impressive 3-2 victory for Magdeburg over Hamburg on Matchday 13 as HSV miss the chance to move top.
Hamburg 2-3 Magdeburg
Goals: 0-1 El Hankouri 11' (assist: Atik), 0-2 Atik 51' (assist: Piccini), 1-2 Königsdörffer 58' (assist: Reis), 1-3 Rieckmann 88' (assist: Krempicki), 3-2 Sanne 90'+3 (assist: Benes)
HSV were looking to return to the summit with victory on Sunday and, on paper, they had the perfect opportunity to do so against basement boys Magdeburg. But the visitors had plenty of incentive of their own and were given the lead after just 11 minutes, through El Hankouri. The chance was carved out by the outside of Atik's right boot, his superb ball freeing El Hankouri inside the right of the hosts' box before the Moroccan fired across goal and into the back of the net. Despite dominating possession, Hamburg just couldn't get going in an attacking sense and Magdeburg comfortably held a well deserved lead at the interval.
The hosts started the second half on the front foot, looking to find a way back into the game but, just five minutes after the break, they were trailing 2-0. This time, Atik was played in by Cristiano Piccini to double his team's advantage. It appeared as if the game was put to bed, but it finally woke Hamburg into life and they were given a lifeline by Ransford-Yeboah Königsdörffer on 58 minutes. The young striker was alert in the box to turn home Ludovit Reis' cross and, three minutes later, HSV thought they were level. Silas Gnaka unfortunately put the ball into the back of his own net but the Magdeburg defender's blushes were spared by VAR's intervention for an offside in the build-up. The hosts pushed for a legitimate equaliser but were caught on the break when Rieckmann made it 3-1 late on and Tom Sanne's injury-time effort was only ever a consolation.
HSV: Heuer Fernandes - Mikelbrencis (Benes 55'), Vuskovic, David, Muheim - Meffert - Suhonen (Amaechi 55'), Reis - Dompe (Glatzel 55'), Königsdörffer, Kittel (Sanne 90'+2)
Unused subs: Raab, Bilbija, Zumberi, Krahn
Out: Heyer (ankle), Jatta (ankle), Leibold (muscular), Schonlau (suspended)
Coach: Tim Walter
Magdeburg: Reimann - Bockhorn, Piccini, Gnaka, Bell Bell - Müller (Conde 83'), Elfadli, Krempicki - El Hankouri (Schuler 60'), Kwarteng (Rieckmann 70'), Atik (Brünker 83')
Unused subs: Boss, Ceka, Schelmann, Bittroff, Ito
Out: Franzke (fitness), Halbouni (cruciate ligament), Kath (fitness), Schmökel (fitness)
Coach: Christian Titz
Darmstadt 1-1 Holstein Kiel
Goals: 0-1 Skrzybski (35'), 1-1 Bader (72')
The league leaders going into Matchday 13, Darmstadt suffered a small hiccup at home when being pegged back by Kiel, whose own promotion hopes will have been enhanced by this draw. Hoping to extend an incredible unbeaten stretch to 14 games, the Lilies were delivered a set-back when the division's top scorer, Steven Skrzybski, converted a Lewis Holtby assist. The goal surviving a VAR check, Darmstadt were left playing catch-up. An improved second-half showing from the hosts eventually led to an equaliser, with Matthias Bader hitting the target after a counter-attack.
Hansa Rostock 0-2 Kaiserslautern
Goals: 0-1 Boyd (67'), 0-2 Boyd (82')
Victory for Kaiserslautern was the perfect response to last weekend's 3-0 home reverse against Jahn Regensburg. An error by Hansa keeper Markus Kolke led to to the game's opening goal with the custodian allowing Terence Boyd's effort to slip through his grasp. A quick counter-thrust then saw the visitors seal the deal and it was Boyd again who was on target with his seventh goal of the campaign. The American now third in the goalscoring charts, his team are also sitting pretty in the top half of the table.
Jahn Regensburg 2-1 Sandhausen
Goals: 1-0 Zhirov o.g. (1'), 1-1 Esswein (12'), 2-1 Albers (70')
Mersad Selimbegovic's men produced their second win in a row and they are now unbeaten in three as confidence continues to grow around the Jahnstadion. Sandhausen made a disastrous start when their captain Aleksandr Zhirov headed an Andreas Albers cross into his own net in the opening minute of the game. The visitors rallied and were soon on terms, however, Alexander Esswein finishing from Christian Kinsombi's cross. Showing more belief in the second half, Jahn pushed for the winner and they bagged it through Albers, whose shot on the spin sent the local fans home happy.
Eintracht Braunschweig 0-0 Paderborn
Paderborn missed the chance to go top after Lukas Kwasniok's team were held to a scoreless draw by a disciplined Eintracht side, who are now unbeaten in seven games. Anton-Leander Donkor hit a post for the hosts early on and, incredibly, that was as close as either side came to scoring in a largely uneventful affair. Top scorers in the division with 32 goals, Paderborn failed to score in a game for the first time this season.
Nuremberg 0-0 Hannover
A drab encounter at the Max-Morlock-Stadion ended in a scoreless draw that did little to help either side's second-division cause. Mats Möller Daehli's shot towards the end of the first half brought a reaction save from Ron-Robert Zieler, while a Johannes Geis free kick soon afterwards wasn't far off target as the home side probed. Derrick Köhn and substitute Hendrik Weydandt tried and failed to push Hannover ahead in the second half, but both teams would ultimately settle for a draw.
Arminia Bielefeld 2-0 St. Pauli
Goals: 1-0 Serra (76'), 2-0 Serra (84')
Janni Serra scored a late brace as Bielefeld climbed off the foot of the table with victory over Pauli. Marcel Hartel squandered the best chance of a first half in which Arminia contributed little in an attacking sense, but the 59th-minute introduction of Serra turned the game on its head. He needed less than 20 minutes to find his range, nestling a fine effort into the bottom corner from 16 yards. Jackson Irvine went within a whisker of levelling, before Serra headed in a second to give Arminia only their third win of the league campaign.
Heidenheim 3-1 Greuther Fürth
Goals: 1-0 Mainka (9'), 2-0 Kleindienst (33'), 2-1 Hrgota (52'), 3-1 Beste 56'
Greuther finished the weekend in bottom place as they were brushed aside by Heidenheim on Sunday. The hosts raced into a two-goal lead at half time thanks to goals from Patrick Mainka and Tim Kleindienst, which left Greuther staring down the barrel of a fifth defeat of the campaign. Branimir Hrgota gave them a glimmer of hope by pulling one back shortly after the interval, but the Cloverleaves were soon trailing by two once more. Jan-Niklas Beste struck just four minutes after Hrgota to wrap up all three points for his team, who are fourth and just five points off top spot as a result.
Karlsruhe 0-2 Fortuna Düsseldorf
Goals: 0-1 Peterson (8'), 0-2 Peterson (22')
Having previously gone four games unbeaten at home, Karlsruhe suffered a second successive defeat at the Wildpark as Fortuna came away with all three points and ended their own run of back-to-back league losses. Kristoffer Peterson was the hero, scoring his first league goals of the season by the midway point of the first half. There would be no way back for Karlsruhe, who now sit just outside the top half, while Fortuna move sixth and to within five points of the promotion places.