Schalke remained in second place in the Bundesliga after a 1-1 draw with Groiser Fürth on Saturday. Paderborn were one of the big winners in round 24, climbing into second place after Darmstadt and Elversberg both dropped points. Hannover also reduced the gap on the league leaders to just two points.
Dejan Ljubicic came to Schalke’s rescue at Fürth, with the January signing now scoring in back-to-back games. Denis Srbeany did the same for the hosts, although Heiko Vogel’s side were still stranded at the other end of the table after conceding a goal with 15 minutes to go.
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Prussenmünster and Magdeburg are level on points with Fürth, but they will both play on Sunday. Holstein Kiel are another team in danger of relegation, which led to their decision to replace long-time head coach Marcel Rapp with Tim Walter this week.
The experienced manager started his coaching career with a 1-1 draw at home to promotion chasers Elversberg. Both goals came just after the break, with Jonas Thikelsen canceling out David Moqua’s opener. The Hoffenheim loanee is in fine form after joining Elversberger to replace Younes Ebnutalib.
Paderborn took advantage of the opportunity to climb into second place with their third win in four games. Ralf Kettermann’s side earned their latest hard-fought victory against an out-of-form Kaiserslautern side. They scored in stoppage time in both halves before Kenny Redondo scored a consolation goal for the home side in the 98th minute. Goals from Calvin Brackmann and Philippe Birbija left Paderborn just one point behind Schalke.
Hannover have also rejoined the title race, with the fifth-placed team just two points behind the Royal Blues. Enzo Leopold’s penalty was enough to give Christian Titz’s side a three-point lead over Arminia Bielefeld. Since losing to Kaiserslautern in the first game of 2026, Hannover has scored 16 points in six games.
