The first leg of the Bundesliga relegation playoff between VfL Wolfsburg and SC Paderborn ended in a 0-0 draw, meaning the decision on promotion and relegation has been postponed until the return match on Monday.
Initially, the game at the Volkswagen-Arena was played with considerable caution, as both sides largely avoided taking risks. Paderborn created the first real opportunity in the first half when Santiago Castaneda hit the inside of the post after a corner in the ninth minute. Wolfsburg eventually improved their play during the half, but they faced significant difficulty against SCP’s strong goalkeeper, Leopold Seimen, who made several saves, including denying Adam Daghim and recovering from a deflected Christian Eriksen cross.
After the break, Wolfsburg dramatically increased their attacking pressure, forcing Paderborn deep into their own half. Although the home team dominated possession, they struggled to find solutions against the compact defense of the second-division side in the final third. Christian Eriksen tested Seimen with a free-kick, while Yannick Gerhardt narrowly missed the goal with a header shortly thereafter.
The most significant chance in the latter stages surprisingly came from Paderborn. In the 84th minute, Filip Bilbija successfully dribbled past Wolfsburg goalkeeper Kamil Grabara, but a potential goal was denied by Denis Vavro and Joakim Mæhle.
During stoppage time, the guests themselves incurred a disciplinary setback: Jonah Sticker was initially shown a yellow card for a foul on Kevin Paredes, and very soon after, he received a second yellow card for a hard tackle, resulting in a red card. As a result, Paderborn will be missing Sticker in the second match.
