The Bundesliga relegation battle is heating up, and Heidenheim are refusing to go down without a fight. A crucial 3-1 victory over Cologne on Sunday has kept their top-flight survival hopes alive, setting up a dramatic final matchday.
With just one game remaining, the bottom three—VfL Wolfsburg, Heidenheim, and St. Pauli—are locked on 26 points each. The winner of this three-way race will claim 16th place, which means a ticket to the relegation/promotion play-off. Wolfsburg currently hold that spot, but everything is still up for grabs.
The final matchday promises fireworks: Wolfsburg travel to face St. Pauli in a direct showdown, while Heidenheim host Mainz. Every goal, every tackle, every moment will matter.
Sunday's match against Cologne was a rollercoaster. Jan Schöppner gave Heidenheim an early lead in the 8th minute, but Cologne's Marius Bülter leveled the score just two minutes later. The drama didn't stop there. Arijon Ibrahimović restored Heidenheim's advantage in the 28th minute, and Schöppner sealed the win with his second goal of the day in the 72nd minute—a brace that could prove priceless.
Heidenheim coach Frank Schmidt couldn't resist a playful jab at the odds. "Lothar Matthäus said yesterday: Wolfsburg have a 60% chance of survival, St. Pauli 30%, us 10%. I would never disagree with Lothar. But 10% is 1,000% more than it was just a few weeks ago," he said with a grin.
Elsewhere, history was made at Union Berlin. Marie-Louise Eta claimed her first win since taking over as head coach, becoming the first woman to lead a men's team in one of Europe's top leagues. Her Union Berlin side snatched a dramatic 3-1 victory at Mainz, with Oliver Burke scoring in the 88th minute and Josip Juranovic adding a stoppage-time goal. Sheraldo Becker had earlier canceled out Andrej Ilic's opener for Union.
It was a sweet moment for Eta, who had lost twice and drawn once in her first three matches since taking the job last month. The match also featured a brief interruption in the first half, as Union Berlin fans threw tennis balls onto the pitch to protest Sunday scheduling. Banners read: "2025-26 season: 7,000 kilometres on Sundays" and "your scheduling is a joke!"
For Mainz, the defeat was a tough one, especially for coach Urs Fischer, who led Union Berlin to their historic Bundesliga promotion in 2020. Meanwhile, the spotlight now shifts to the final matchday, where every team will be fighting for their top-flight future.