News Focus
- Felix Klaus scores and creates two goals against his former club to inspire a crucial victory for Greuther Fürth
- Fortuna Düsseldorf drop to 3. Liga for the first time since 2009 after a 16-year stay in the top two divisions
- Branimir Hrgota and Noel Futkeu add to the scoreline in a dominant first-half performance
- Arminia Bielefeld’s comeback win against Hertha BSC confirms Düsseldorf’s fate in the automatic relegation places
- Greuther Fürth will face Rot-Weiss Essen in a two-legged playoff to decide their second-tier status
Felix Klaus delivered a stunning performance against his former employers to send Fortuna Düsseldorf down to the third tier and keep Greuther Fürth’s season alive. The 33-year-old winger, who will return to Eintracht Frankfurt this summer, opened the scoring inside two minutes and played a direct role in two further goals as the hosts seized control.
Klaus broke the deadlock with a calm finish following a swift attacking move. The former Düsseldorf wide man then forced a deflection off defender Elias Egoli for the second goal before supplying the precise cross for Noel Futkeu to head home the third before half-time. The victory secures a relegation playoff place for Heiko Vogel’s side against Rot-Weiss Essen.
Düsseldorf, led by their third manager of the campaign Alexander Ende, improved after the interval but could not find a way back into the match. Their misery was compounded by results elsewhere, as Arminia Bielefeld came from behind to defeat Hertha BSC 4-1. Joel Grodowski scored twice for Bielefeld to lift his club clear of danger and confirm Düsseldorf’s demotion.
Branimir Hrgota, who is set to leave Fürth at the end of the campaign, struck the post during the first half and later had a goal ruled out by the video assistant referee for offside. The Swedish forward also missed an open goal in stoppage time. Klaus nearly added his second late on when his effort struck the side-netting, while Futkeu had another goal disallowed following a VAR review.
The defeat marks a bitter end to the season for the seven-time German champions, who were missing key striker Cedric Itten. Fürth now turn their attention to the playoff against Essen, where Hrgota and Futkeu will hope to make their final contributions to the club before their summer departures.