It took just three minutes for the Wolves to take the lead in the second leg of the relegation playoff (0-0 after the first leg). On a pass from Adam Daghim, Dzenan Pejcinovic opened the scoring for Wolfsburg. But the early advantage quickly turned into a nightmare for the visitors.

In the same span of three minutes, Joakim Maehle collected his first yellow card in the 11th minute, followed by a second in the 14th minute. The double booking completely shifted the momentum of the match, leaving Wolfsburg down to ten men and struggling to regain control.

Despite the numerical disadvantage, Wolfsburg held their lead for around thirty minutes before Paderborn equalized in the 38th minute. A well-placed corner led to a diving header from Filip Bilbija, who leveled the score with a poacher’s finish following a long throw-in.

With Lovro Majer sidelined for the match, Wolfsburg’s attack struggled to find a breakthrough as Paderborn dominated the proceedings. The tension escalated as neither side could break the deadlock by the end of regulation time, forcing the match into extra time.

Wolfsburg’s defense, once impenetrable, cracked under pressure. In the 99th minute, Laurin Curda found himself unmarked in the box after a cross from the left flank and calmly slotted the ball past Kamil Grabara, who had been a wall in goal until that moment.

Bereft of ideas and with their fate sealed, Wolfsburg’s players watched helplessly as Paderborn celebrated their historic victory. The club from Lower Saxony will now compete in the second tier of German football next season, a first in nearly three decades. Meanwhile, Paderborn will play in the Bundesliga for the first time since the 2019-20 season, marking a stunning reversal of fortunes for both teams.