03/07/26 11:26:00
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03/07 11:24 CST Flares fly and players fight as Wolfsburg moves closer to
relegation with Bundesliga loss to Hamburg
Flares fly and players fight as Wolfsburg moves closer to relegation with
Bundesliga loss to Hamburg
By CIARAN FAHEY
AP Sports Writer
BERLIN (AP) --- Wolfsburg moved a step closer to Bundesliga relegation on
Saturday with an ill-tempered 2-1 loss at home to Hamburger SV that ended with
rival players fighting in an on-field melee.
Masked Wolfsburg fans threw flares on the pitch sending black smoke billowing
behind one of the goals to illustrate their frustrations with the team's
predicament after its eighth game without a win left it 17th in the 18-team
division.
Both teams' substitutes and team officials rushed onto the field after the
final whistle with Wolfsburg midfielder Maximilian Arnold seemingly reacting
angrily after being provoked by Hamburg rivals.
Referee Florian Exner's whistles failed to stop the melee. He showed Wolfsburg
reserve goalkeeper Marius Mller a red card.
Christian Eriksen scored a penalty for Wolfsburg but his team conceded two and
Hamburg converted both to move nine points above the home team and in good
position to survive its first season back in the top division.
It's likely to have been Daniel Bauer's last game as Wolfsburg coach with both
Dieter Hecking and Felix Magath touted with possible returns to lead the
Volkswagen-backed club to safety. Bauer's successor would be the team's third
coach of the season.
Wolfsburg fans displayed a banner before the game saying it was the last chance
for the team, and that they were behind the players. Afterward, there was a
banner that said, "Chance wasted, support withdrawn."
Nine rounds remain after this weekend.
Champions League race
Alexander Prass scored twice and Hoffenheim defeated last-place Heidenheim 4-2
away to consolidate third place.
Bayer Leverkusen was on course to move fourth -- the last place for Champions
League qualification -- when it was leading 3-2 against Freiburg and
qualification rivals Stuttgart and Leipzig were both losing.
Then Matthias Ginter scored late for Freiburg to draw 3-3, Stuttgart drew 2-2
in Mainz, and Yan Diomande led Leipzig to a 2-1 home win over Augsburg.
Stuttgart stayed fourth with 47 points, ahead of Leipzig on goal difference,
with Leverkusen three points behind in sixth.
Second-place Borussia Dortmund was playing in Cologne later.
Bayern Munich has a 14-point lead after a 4-1 win over Borussia Mnchengladbach
on Friday.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
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