Fortuna Duesseldorf boosted their hopes of avoiding relegation from the Bundesliga after coming from behind to beat Schalke 04 2-1 at home on Wednesday.
The result left Fortuna 16th, the relegation playoff spot, on 27 points from 28 games, one behind Mainz who stayed in the safety zone with a 1-1 draw at Union Berlin. Schalke stayed ninth on 37 points.
After a dull first half, the contest sprung to life when Weston McKennie fired Schalke into a 53rd-minute lead with a diving header from a superb Bastian Oczipka cross.
Rouwen Hennings nodded in a 63rd-minute equaliser which stood after a quick VAR check and Kenan Karaman completed Fortuna’s comeback with another close-range header thanks to more sloppy defending by the visitors.
Augsburg, Paderborn share points in relegation battle
Augsburg and bottom club Paderborn played out a 0-0 draw in their Bundesliga relegation battle on Wednesday despite a string of good chances for both sides, with six games left in the season.
In Augsburg’s 300th Bundesliga game, the hosts secured a valuable point that kept them 12th on 31 points but Paderborn, who hit the woodwork, remained anchored in last place on 19 despite a strong first half.
They are now without a win in their last nine league games.
The Bundesliga restarted 10 days ago after a break of more than two months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with games played without supporters to reduce the risk of infection.
Hoffenheim back in European mix with win over Cologne
Hoffenheim snapped a seven-game winless run in the Bundesliga with an entertaining 3-1 victory over visitors Cologne on Wednesday as both teams ended the game with 10 men and the hosts moved back into European contention.
The win lifted Hoffenheim into seventh place on 39 points with six games left in the season which restarted 11 days ago after a break of more than two months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All matches are played without spectators to minimise the risk of infection.
Christoph Baumgartner scored early in each half to give Hoffenheim a two-goal lead with Cologne a man down after Sebastiaan Bornauw was sent off with a red card for a violent challenge in the 26th minute.
Steven Zuber added a third in the 48th but the numerical balance was restored when Benjamin Huebner got his marching orders following a second booking for a clumsy foul on Cologne’s Dominick Drexler two minutes later.
The visitors pulled a goal back through Florian Kainz’s deflected shot on the hour and could have scored again but Mark Uth’s penalty was saved by Oliver Baumann.
