After the separation from coach Schuster: Kaiserslautern received a slap in Magdeburg

After three defeats in a row in the 2nd Bundesliga, 1. FC Kaiserslautern somewhat surprisingly parted ways with promotion coach Dirk Schuster on Thursday. With assistant coach Niklas Martin as a temporary solution, the next bankruptcy happened at 1. FC Magdeburg.

The FCM won on Saturday evening (December 2nd, 2023) against 1. FC Kaiserslautern 4:1 (1:1). Luc Castaignos (17th minute), Herbert Bockhorn (51st), Connor Krempicki (75th) and Cristiano Piccini (86th) scored the goals for the home team, while Terrence Boyd (25th) equalized for Lautern.

Magdeburg, 10th in the table, now has 19 points, but is only three points clear of the relegation place. Lautern is thirteenth with 18 points.

The game started slowly and without any highlights. Both teams initially tried to avoid mistakes. The events unfolded accordingly. That changed after a good quarter of an hour. After a nice pass from Silas Gnaka, Casteignos shot from eight meters – FCK-Keeper Julian Krahl was still on the ball, but ultimately couldn’t prevent the impact.

“Red Devils” initially reward themselves

After going behind, the “Red Devils” picked up the pace, and that engagement was rewarded just eight minutes later. striker Boyd got the ball after a throw-in and pushed the ball into the bottom right of the goal from a standing position from 14 meters. Although the goal inspired Lautern, Magdeburg had the next good chance. After a free kick from the left corner of the penalty area, Daniel Heber finished completely unchallenged from ten meters, but headed the ball into Krahl’s arms – but a goal would probably not have counted because of offside.

Although Magdeburg pushed for the lead again at the end of the first half, they went into the break with a fair draw. Even after the restart, the game was initially evenly matched, but the Saxony-Anhalt team quickly gained an advantage.

Lautern’s defense in deep sleep

Then there was a complete lack of coordination in the Lauter defense. Bockhorn took advantage of this in the 51st minute after a cross from Barış Atik and gave Magdeburg the lead again with a flying header in the center of the penalty area. The FCK now seemed impressed. Atik (54′) had a chance to make it 3-1, but was denied by FCK goalkeeper Krahl’s strong save.

Krempicki stands out as a joker

Krahl continued to be the center of attention when he used his fists to defuse shots from substitutes Krempicki and Tatsuya Ito in the 72nd minute. Just three minutes later, the ball found its way into the goal: After some nice preparatory work from Ito, Soldo fended off a shot from Heber with his hand in the penalty area – before the penalty whistle could have been blown, Krempicki put the follow-up shot into the net. It was the eighth Magdeburg joker-Goal of the season. Cristiano Piccini scored the final point with a penalty kick.

Will Grammozis be the new FCK coach?

FCK sports director Thomas Hengen attributed the defeat to the fact that “We made too many simple mistakes in the second half that led to goals conceded. The early 2-1 took away our faith, the 3-1 pulled the plug on us.” And who will be the new coach? “At the moment I can’t tell you”he told the sports show, “Either is our coachteam still there or we will present a new one in the next few days.” Dimitrios Grammozis, who played in Kaiserslautern for five years, is considered a candidate.

Both teams will initially be challenged in the DFB Cup

1. FC Magdeburg will receive 1. FC Nürnberg in the DFB Cup Fortuna Düsseldorf, Lautern on Tuesday (December 5th, 2023, 6:00 p.m.). The 2nd league continues for both on Saturday (December 9th, 2023, 1:00 p.m.): Magdeburg plays away at SpVgg Greuther Fürth, Kaiserslautern welcomes Hertha BSC to the Betzenberg.