Paderborn, 26 May (H.S.): German football club VfL Wolfsburg has been relegated from the Bundesliga after 29 years. In the second leg of the relegation play-off played on Monday, SC Paderborn 07 secured a 2-1 victory in extra time to earn promotion to the top tier.

The first leg between the two teams had ended in a goalless draw. In the second leg, Wolfsburg took an early lead in the third minute through Dejan Pejcinovic. However, Paderborn equalised seven minutes before half-time through a goal by Filip Bilbija.

Wolfsburg’s troubles deepened when Joakim Mæhle was shown a red card just 11 minutes after the opening goal. He received two yellow cards within three minutes, forcing the team to play almost the entire match with 10 men.

Paderborn continued to press, but Wolfsburg goalkeeper Kamil Grabara made several outstanding saves to keep his side in the contest. The match remained 1-1 at the end of regulation time, pushing the game into extra time.

In the 10th minute of extra time, Laurin Curda scored a brilliant volley to give Paderborn the decisive lead. This goal sealed a historic victory and secured Paderborn’s return to the Bundesliga for the third time.

Wolfsburg first reached the Bundesliga in 1997 and had remained in the top flight ever since. The club won the Bundesliga title in 2009 and the German Cup in 2015.

Meanwhile, Paderborn had previously been promoted to the Bundesliga twice but were relegated after just one season on both occasions.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar