2. Bundesliga: Paderborn hold firm to defeat ten-man Nürnberg

Paderborn claimed a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Nürnberg this afternoon to return to second place in the 2. Bundesliga.

First-half goals from Sebastian Klaas and Laurin Curda proved decisive for the hosts, who had to weather a late scare after Luka Lochoshvili pulled one back with 15 minutes remaining.

An energetic opening 20 minutes saw both goalkeepers called into action, before Paderborn were handed a breakthrough from the penalty spot. Styopa Mkrtchyan brought down Curda inside the area, allowing Klaas to calmly send Jan Reichert the wrong way and open the scoring.

The hosts doubled their advantage shortly before the half-hour mark. Raphael Obermair burst down the left and cut the ball back for Curda, who was left unmarked at the back post to tap home and make it 2-0. Nürnberg nearly responded immediately, but Adam Markhiev somehow blazed over from six yards out, preserving Paderborn’s two-goal cushion at the break.

Klose’s side were dealt a further blow six minutes into the second half when Rafael Lubach was shown a straight red card for hauling down Steffen Tigges to halt a counter-attack – his second dismissal of the season. Paderborn remained on top, though Nürnberg were handed a lifeline out of nowhere late on. Lochoshvili controlled a long throw before firing a half-volley past Denis Seimen at the near post, scoring Nürnberg’s first away goal since November and injecting brief tension into the contest.

Any hopes of a comeback quickly faded, however, as Paderborn regained control, dominated possession, and comfortably saw out the closing stages. The result lifts the hosts back into second place, while Nürnberg remain ninth pending the rest of the weekend’s fixtures.