Magdeburg drops all points in Ulm

1. FC Magdeburg failed to catch up after the top duo slipped up and also slipped out of the relegation places. The club lost 1-0 (0-1) to relegation candidates SSV Ulm in front of 16,181 spectators on Saturday. Semir Telalovic (17) scored for SSV Ulm. Magdeburg slipped to fourth place in the table as a result of the defeat and are now one point behind SV Elversberg.

"We weren't there in the first half and gave away a goal because we didn't defend it consistently," criticized FCM coach Christian Titz after the match. Captain Dominik Reimann explained Magdeburg's problems as follows: "Ulm played man-to-man across the whole pitch. When I had the ball, I was the only one who was free. We didn't have enough penetration in the final third."

Titz had to do without Alexander Ahl-Holmstöm (thigh problem). Martijn Kaars returned to the nine, with Abu-Bekir El-Zein taking his place in midfield. The hosts started briskly, forcing Magdeburg back into their half in the early stages and giving the Elbe club little room to build an orderly game. However, apart from two harmless corner kicks, Ulm were unable to score.

FCM without access when conceding

The FCM slowly adapted better to Ulm's attacking pressing, even if the visitors also failed to create any clear goalscoring opportunities. Both teams bridged the midfield quickly for the most part, resulting in a very fast game. After El-Zein lost the ball, FCM failed to get into the tackles and Telalovic was able to slot in a pass largely unchallenged.

Magdeburg made an early substitution, bringing on Connor Krempicki for the unfortunate El-Zein (29') and also made an effort to equalize. However, there was a lack of ideas and precision - the majority of attacks had an Ulm player in between. In addition, FCM rarely managed to break out of their own half.

Nary a Magdeburg player in normal form

The only Magdeburg fireworks were set off by the visiting fans at the start of the second half - referee Nicolas Winter interrupted the game for several minutes. On the pitch, however, the picture from the first half continued: FCM tried hard, but hardly any of the Blue & Whites reached their normal form.

Magdeburg had long since gained the upper hand, but only created half-chances. Young talent Magnus Baars made his professional debut in the closing stages, but even the 18-year-old was unable to do anything about the defeat. Significantly, his finish in stoppage time was the best FCM chance of the second half.