Christian Eriksen and his teammates suffered a dramatic collapse in the playoff’s second leg on Monday evening. Wolfsburg had taken the lead early on through Dzenan Pejcinovic, assisted by Adam Daghim, but their advantage lasted barely half an hour before Paderborn clawed their way back into the game.

Joakim Maehle’s double booking in the opening quarter disrupted Wolfsburg’s rhythm, shifting momentum decisively in Paderborn’s favor. Despite playing with ten men after Maehle’s second yellow card, Wolfsburg held firm until the 38th minute, when Filip Bilbija powered in a header from a long corner to level the tie at 1-1.

The second half saw Paderborn dominate possession, registering 31 shots before extra time began. Wolfsburg’s goalkeeper Kamil Grabara stood firm, thwarting numerous attempts to keep his team in the game. However, the pressure finally told in the dying seconds of the second period of extra time, when Laurin Curda exploited space on the left flank to calmly finish past the Polish international.

Christian Eriksen, sidelined for the match, watched helplessly as his teammates fought valiantly but ultimately fell short. The defeat marks Wolfsburg’s first relegation to the second tier in nearly three decades, while Paderborn secured promotion to the Bundesliga for the first time since 2019-20.