In a fast-paced southwest duel, 1. FC Kaiserslautern secured a narrow away win at Karlsruher SC. Substitute Marlon Ritter only scored the victory in added time.
In a derby that was heated at times, 1. FC Kaiserslautern defeated Karlsruher SC 3:2 (1:0). In the sold-out Karlsruhe Wildpark, Ivan Prtajin (11th minute) initially gave the guests the lead. Naatan Skyttä increased the score to 2-0 for FCK after the break, before KSC equalized to 2-2 thanks to Fabian Schleusener (58′) and Lilian Egloff (83′). Marlon Ritter scored the winning goal to make it 3-2 for FCK in the third minute of stoppage time. It is FCK’s first success against neighbors KSC since February 2019.
KSC coach Christian: Eichner “We got two real crap goals”
Despite the home defeat, KSC coach Christian Eichner praised his team’s performance and described the game as the “most stable game of the season”. However, FCK’s two deflected shots on goal, which Eichner described as “real crappy goals”, were difficult to digest. “For me, those weren’t serious chances and luckily we stuck with it. But in the end we lost the game due to a passing error,” said the KSC coach.
Prtajin with a heel to give Kaiserslautern the lead
Compared to the 3-3 draw in Dresden before the international break, KSC coach Christian Eichner made no changes to the starting eleven. Torsten Lieberknecht changed at least one position: different than that FCK won 3-2 against Bochum Faride Alidou started on offense for nominal captain Marlon Ritter.
There was a lot going on in both penalty areas from the first minute of the game: Ivan Prtajin was only denied by KSC keeper Christian Bernat after a long ball from the FCK defense. Less than ten minutes later, the FCK striker was able to celebrate the 1-0 win. It was he who decisively deflected Mika Haas’s long-range shot from the backcourt with his heel and directed the ball into the left corner of the goal (11th minute). It is already that eighth goal of the season for the summer newcomer.
The Palatinate team wanted to follow up straight away: Fabian Kunze was only centimeters away from making it 2-0 when he finished in the 19th minute. But the hosts also had ideas: After a cross pass from Philipp Förster, Marvin Wanitzek had a free shot, but didn’t hit the ball fully, so FCK goalkeeper Julian Krahl fended off Baden’s counterattack.
Karlsruhe with a double chance before the break
In the last quarter of an hour before the break, KSC put enormous pressure on the offensive: a powerful long-range shot from Dzenis Burnic forced Krahl to make a brilliant save to send the ball just over the crossbar. In the very next scene, the ball came to Christoph Kobald after a cross, who made his way through the Red Devils’ penalty area and tried twice, but was also failed by Krahl, who stormed out. At the break it remained 1-0 for Kaiserslautern.
Three goals and “Monster straddle” in the second half
Ten minutes after the restart, the guests extended their lead: Naatan Skyttä’s shot was deflected so badly by a KSC defender that goalkeeper Bernat could no longer get to the ball and it went directly under the crossbar. As in the first half, however, the home team had an answer ready – and this time successfully: KSC striker Fabian Schleusener safely pushed a rebound from Wanitzek over the line in the 58th minute. After just under an hour it was 1:2 from Baden’s perspective.
Lautern’s Luca Sirch spectacularly prevented the equalizer in the 74th minute: After a cross pass, Wanitzek had the opportunity to score 2-2 from a tight angle, but Sirch saved the FCK with a “monster slide”. However, the FCK couldn’t be happy about the saved lead for long, because just eight minutes later Lilian Egloff scored the celebrated 2-2 equalizer for the hosts.
Marlon Ritter shoots FCK to derby victory
The final phase of the heated derby remained exciting, the KSC was braver – but the guests brought the somewhat happy end. FCK captain Marlon Ritter, of all people, secured the away win with his second goal of the season: after winning the ball in midfield, the FCK countered the hosts, who had advanced far, in a textbook manner. Ritter marched across half the pitch and finished from 14 meters to the right. His low shot went into the far corner, unstoppable for KSC keeper Bernat.
The KSC could no longer react afterwards, so an exciting derby ended with an away win for the Palatinate team. The FCK is now in fourth place with 18 points, at least until the Sunday games. Karlsruhe, on the other hand, missed the jump and remains in seventh place with 15 points.
FCK against Nuremberg, KSC near Fürth
The KSC will face the game association from Fürth away on matchday 10 (Friday, from 6:30 p.m. in the audio stream on Sportschau.de). The FCK will host the 15th-place team from Nuremberg next week on Sunday (from 1:30 p.m. in the audio stream on Sportschau.de).
Broadcast on Saturday, October 18th, 2025, 2:00 p.m., Stadium, SWR1
