Paderborn run riot against nine-man Karlsruhe

Sven Michel had the game’s first two chances as the visitors fared slightly better in the first-half. Karlsruhe survived a potential red card to Marcel Franke when the referee stuck with his initial decision of yellow for a strong challenge on Nick Bätzner.

Leon Opitz put the hosts in front with a close-range header right after the restart, but the goal was chalked off after a lengthy VAR check. Padebron had multiple chances to recover the ball after Meiko Wäschenbach’s foul, but the referee went back to the incident to cancel the goal.

A few minutes later, the home fans had another reason to get frustrated by the referee’s decision as Fabian Schleusener was sent off for a second booking. Karlsruhe's top-scorer received the second yellow card for diving.

Laurin Curda capitalized on the extra man advantage in the 65th minute as he powered home Felix Götze’s cross with a strong header. Five minutes later, Curda scored his third goal in his last two appearances to seal the three points for Paderborn. Raphael Obermair added a third for the visitors with a cheeky finish in the 78th minute.

Franke eventually joined Schleusener when he was sent off seven minutes before time for two bookable offenses. Then, Tjark Scheller further extended the scoreline with a simple finish against the nine men of Karlsruhe.

After three successive defeats, Ralf Kettemann’s side are back in second place with a crucial win. However, Elversberg, Darmstadt, and Hannover will have opportunities to restore their lead over Paderborn as they have a game in hand.

Paderborn will face fellow promotion hopefuls Darmstadt in the last matchday before the winter break. Karlsruhe end 2025 with a trip to Bochum next Saturday.