Under extremely dramatic circumstances, Hamburg SV have lived to fight another season in the Bundesliga.
Hamburg SV’s stellar record of being the only side to not have been relegated from the Bundesliga has somehow remained intact.
After drawing the first leg of their relegation play-off 1-1 with Bundesliga 2. outfit Karlsruher, things began to look dismal for Hamburg in the second clash.
Reinhold Yabo put home side Karlsruher 2-1 up on aggregate with 15 minutes left and it appeared as if Hamburg would finally face the drop.
However, with just three and a half minutes left until the final whistle, Marcelo Diaz picked the perfect time to score his first goal for the club with a stunning free-kick.
Nicolai Muller then put Hamburg ahead for the first time in the tie with five minutes left until the dreaded penalty shoot-out. It looked like the danger had been averted and they had sealed their place in the German top flight.
However, the drama wasn’t over yet as Karlsruher were awarded a penalty for an extremely contentious hand ball decision by the referee. Rouwen Hennings sank to the ground in despair as Rene Adler saved the spot-kick to preserve his side’s top flight status for another year.
