1. FC Nürnberg will also play in the 2nd Bundesliga next season. After Sunday’s narrow win against 1. FC Magdeburg, coach Miroslav Klose’s team can no longer be caught mathematically.
Without their respective top scorers Mohamed Zoma and Mateusz Zukowski, Nuremberg and Magdeburg found it difficult to score goals in the direct relegation duel. Little happened for long stretches until Zoma’s replacement Rafael Lubach (44th) scored to give the “Club” the lead shortly before half-time and forced Magdeburg to take more risks. But that wasn’t rewarded and the final score remained 1-0 (1-0).
Due to the many direct duels in the extremely close and exciting relegation battle, Nuremberg, in 8th place in the table, is mathematically certain of staying in the league with three game days to go. Nuremberg’s eight points lead over the relegation relegation place can no longer be caught up by all teams in places 9 – 16 at the same time.
“In the second league, nuances, duels, mistakes that you might make are decisive – thank God we got that over with today.”said Nuremberg coach Miroslav Klose in the Sportschau interview.
Uneventful start between Nuremberg and Magdeburg
The home team got into the game better. Coach Miro Klose’s team started the game offensively. After ten minutes, Nuremberg had their first approach to the goal: Lubach brought the cross from the left, where Antonio Grimaldi was ready at the second post. But Marcus Mathisen cleared things up before things could get really dangerous.
The guests on the other side had a hard time, looked for structure and hardly had any offensive action. The game was mainly characterized by waiting on the part of the guests. Magdeburg showed the first sign of life in front of the hosts’ goal after half an hour. Lubambo Musonda’s shot from the second row landed directly in the arms of FCN keeper Jan Reichert.
FCM and “Club” are noticeably missing strikers
As a result, a lot of play took place in the midfield during this phase. The Nuremberg team continued to have more possession of the ball, but they didn’t manage to do much with it either. The game was plodding along and chances were scarce. It was probably the most eventful in the stands with around 40,000 spectators in the Max Morlock Stadium, including more than 3,000 Magdeburg fans who had traveled with them.
The failures of the two strikers were clearly noticeable, not much happened offensively. Zukowski, who was missing from the FCM due to a yellow card suspension, was represented by Alexander Ahl-Holmström. Lubach was supposed to replace Nuremberg striker Zoma, who was out with a muscle injury. This calculation didn’t work out (at first).
Leadership for Nuremberg from nowhere
Until Zoma representative Lubach scored the opening goal out of nowhere in stoppage time in the first half. Henri Koudossou accelerated on the right and passed Musonda on the right. His pass into the middle was found by Lubach, who pushed the ball into the goal from a few meters at the second post. A strong individual action that secured the “Club” the lead at the break. It was Lubach’s first goal this calendar year.
More commitment in the second half
Both teams appeared fresher and more dynamic in the second half. After 63 minutes, Nuremberg could have extended their lead. The 1-0 goalscorer passed it to Javier Fernandez just beyond the edge of the penalty area, but he missed the goal by just under a meter.
Just a minute later, Magdeburg had their best chance to date. Zukowski representative Ahl-Holmström rose up after a cross from Herbert Bockhorn and headed the ball just past the post.
Magdeburg missed an equalizer
The game became increasingly worth watching. Magdeburg in particular was more active, more willing to take risks and created more and more scoring opportunities. Alexander Nollenberger (82nd) and Maximilian Breunig (84th) had the equalizer on their feet.
The Magdeburg team was under pressure to take at least one more point. The final phase turned into a wild mess, but the guests couldn’t do anything about it. It remained a 1-0 win for the home team from Nuremberg.
Nuremberg in Fürth, Magdeburg against Hertha
Thanks to the three points, the club now officially has nothing to do with relegation. For Magdeburg, the defeat worsens the situation in the relegation battle. With 33 points, the FCM is still in 16th place.
When asked about Magdeburg’s remaining program, coach Petrick Sander told the Sportschau after the game: “Nowadays, who says what an easy remaining program is? Not you, not me – nobody. So there are results that you would never have expected before and won’t expect in the future. So we have to do our own homework, we have to get our own points and are capable of doing so.”
Nuremberg will be a guest at SpVgg Greuther Fürth on Sunday lunchtime (05/03/2026, 1:30 p.m.). Magdeburg also welcomes Hertha BSC on Sunday afternoon.
