Wolfsburg did not take advantage of their home field advantage in the tie and risk relegation from the Bundesliga

Wolfsburg finished the Bundesliga season in 16th place, playoff spot, with 29 points, 3 ahead of the relegated St. Pauli and Heidenheim. In fact, Wolfsburg defeated St. Pauli away with a score of 3-1.

On the other hand, Paderborn narrowly missed out on direct promotion to the Bundesliga. Paderborn finished the season in 3rd place with 62 points, tied with Elversberg, who took 2nd place thanks to their superior goal difference. Schalke 04 promoted from first place, with 70 points.

Wolsburg and Paderborn, “white” draw in the play-off round

The duel played in Wolfsburg brought a solid and cautious match, in which both teams had their periods of dominance, but without concretizing enough. The visitors started the game better and in the first few minutes they had the first chance when Santiago Castaneda shot after a clearance, but the home goalkeeper Kamil Grabara intervened.

Wolfsburg then took the initiative and gradually pressed the opponent. Denis Vavro had an effort go wide of the bar, while Adam Dagim was among the hosts' most dangerous players in the first half.

Before the break, Christian Eriksen also threatened, his cross coming close to finding the back of the net. In the second half of the match, the pace did not drop significantly and Wolfsburg continued to press, while Paderborn tried to respond on the counter attack.

Eriksen also had a chance in the second half from a free kick, but the visitors' goalkeeper, Denis Seimen, managed to save.

At the end, Paderborn had another good situation when Filip Bilbija tried a lob, but the home defenders managed to intervene and prevent the goal.

Towards the end of the game, the visitors' footballer, Jona Sticker, received his second yellow card and was sent off. The second leg will decide which side will be promoted to the Bundesliga, and Wolfsburg will need to look for an away win to ensure they stay in the league.