On the 18th matchday of the German Football Bundesliga, Borussia Dortmund achieved a hard-fought home victory against FC St. Pauli. In front of Chancellor 'Friedrich Merz', BVB won 3:2. After goals from 'Julian Brandt' and 'Karim Adeyemi', the favored team was already leading 2:0 but temporarily lost their lead due to goals from James Sands and Ricky-Jade Jones. Only a converted 'Foulelfmeter' by 'Emre Can' in the fifth minute of 'Nachspielzeit' secured the success for the hosts.
In the relegation battle at the bottom of the table, 1. FC Köln managed an important 'Befreiungsschlag'. After trailing at halftime, the team from Cologne turned the game around against FSV Mainz 05 and won 2:1. 'Ragnar Ache' became the match-winner with two goals. It was the first victory for the Rhinelanders after eight previous matches without three points.
TSG Hoffenheim reinforced its ambitions for the top spots in the table, narrowly defeating Bayer Leverkusen 1:0. In the other afternoon matches, Hamburger SV and Borussia Mönchengladbach drew 0:0, while VfL Wolfsburg and 1. FC Heidenheim ended their match in a 1:1 draw. With this point, Heidenheim left the bottom of the table.
