Magdeburg's Atik on promotion battle: "We're under no pressure"

With a 0-0 draw at promotion rivals Hannover 96, 1. FC Magdeburg remain in the race for the top three places in the Second Bundesliga, but are no longer in the thick of it with a three-point gap to the relegation places. The Elbe club struggled against the best defense in the league and did not make good decisions, especially in the penalty area.

Coach Christian Titz also admitted as much on the ARD microphone: "We dominated the game, but in the box - the final decision was even better, then we could have got even more here today." In fact, his players failed time and time again to finish instead of playing another pass.

Standards well defended

On the positive side, Magdeburg were able to defend the set pieces that Hannover created, especially in the early stages. Although Philipp Hercher, goalkeeper Dominik Reimann and Silas Gnaka were lucky with their saves, the ball did not end up in the goal. Magdeburg's defense looked much more stable overall than in the recent home defeat against Hamburger SV.

The FCM will also need this stability in their next match, when Magdeburg host 1. FC Kaiserslautern. However, three points will probably be needed against their nearest direct rivals in the fight for promotion if FCM want to stay in touch with the top ranks.

Promotion not on the team's agenda

In the meantime, Magdeburg's creative head Baris Atik assures the team that promotion to the top flight is not on the team's agenda for the first time since reunification. "We're not putting any pressure on ourselves. We don't talk about it either. We want to approach every game in such a way that we want to win it. The rest will come naturally," the 30-year-old explained on ARD.

For Magdeburg, the coming week should be about keeping the defense stable and finding more consistency in attack. Only then can FCM possibly crown their good season performance with promotion. But even if that doesn't work out, they believe they are on the right track overall in Magdeburg.

Magdeburg has stabilized in the league

The 43 points so far already represent a club record in the second Bundesliga. "We've brought in good stability and the players we've brought in have helped us progress. We've already picked up quite a few points this season, but the league is so tight that a lot will happen in the head-to-head matches," said Titz looking ahead

With Kaiserslautern, Paderborn and Düsseldorf, FCM still have three head-to-head matches against promotion rivals. If the offense can regain its momentum, the topic of promotion will accompany the Elbe city team for even longer, at least from the outside.