VfL Wolfsburg defeated FC St. Pauli in the thirty-fourth and final matchweek of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season at Millerntor-Stadion on Saturday afternoon. Goals from Konstantinos Koulierakis, Nikola Vasilj (OG), and Dženan Pejčinović secured Dieter Hecking’s Wölfe sixteenth in the final Bundesliga table and a spot in the relegation playoff against the third-place 2. Bundesliga side later this week.
Here are the most notable reactions from some of the players following the crucial victory.
JOAKIM MÆHLE
Regarding the overall performance against FC St. Pauli: “I think it was an outstanding performance from the guys today. Of course, there was a lot of intensity and nervousness – it was a very crazy feeling in the first half, but I think that over the 100 minutes or so, we were the better team this afternoon.”
When asked about the match and Wolfsburg’s approach at Millerntor-Stadion: “Really brutal – it was a very intense match. But before the warmup, I was with the guys in the tunnel and saw such a hunger in their eyes – I saw a lot of intensity and when we sprinted out, I had a really good feeling in my body and mind.”
Regarding what Wolfsburg need to bring into the relegation playoff: “We need to keep this intensity. We can celebrate this win and then give everything in the next two matches.”
DŽENAN PEJČINOVIĆ
Regarding the overall mood around the club surrounding the match: “We have to say that we are completely relieved, because we knew that it was a match that would decide a lot. But somehow, I felt positive when we started the match, because I saw what the fans delivered for us – it was simply incredible, and I am even getting goosebumps right now, because that is not something to take for granted. That is incredibly fun, and I think in the end, we won with the fans in Hamburg today.”
“Honestly, even in the locker room, because everyone was up for it, we had a certain relaxed attitude – but also 100% aggression and that is how we went into the match. We knew we needed this attitude today, because Pauli will counter it easily if we did not. The Pauli fans certainly put some pressure on us, Pauli themselves as well and especially after the 1-1 equaliser, so that is why I am really glad that we got all three points here. Now it is about us having two more positive matches, but first we will look at what we can do better for the next match and then we will see who we play against.”
Regarding the momentum that the fans gave the club: “We know that we want to give it our all; and as you saw, the fans gave it their all today as well. I am also sure that the next two matches will be tough, no matter where we play, including at home. But we are also ready – we are eager, and as I said, if we approach today like this and carry that momentum with us, I am very positively convinced that we can win both matches.”
YANNICK GERHARDT
Regarding the club developing consistency: “I am very relieved, but also proud. After all the bad weeks, the ultimately poor matches that awaited us, we have stabilised now and we were ready at the push of a button for this very important match where we could have also lost everything. But I had a very good feeling from the start; I have seen in recent weeks that we have regained our compactness, that we have better practices, we have better form, confidence, individual players – and I am glad that we were able to show that today. And even though the match became close again at times, where Pauli managed to equalise, we remained calm and implemented our game plan well.”
When asked about the feeling within the club surrounding the victory: “Of course, goosebumps. Sure, in the end, you want to play for trophies, to have such important matches – but in the end, we have to take it as it comes. I think that in these difficult moments, you also realise that in the end, everyone is there and only wants the best for us. Not only the fans were there, but also the injured players in the stands cheering us on – and I think it shows that we are not written off, but sticking together, that we have a great chance of succeeding in the relegation playoff.”
Regarding how this is different from his previous relegation playoff experiences with Wolfsburg: “I already have some experience with relegation playoffs, unfortunately. But this time it is completely different in terms of approach; we knew that this was our minimum goal and we achieved it. That is why we are rather positive and grateful that we have two more chances to stay in the Bundesliga, regardless of who we face. I am simply looking at what we have developed over the last few weeks, and that is why I am very optimistic that we can defeat anyone.”
CHRISTIAN ERIKSEN
Regarding the Wolfsburg performance: “I think that we showed maturity in our game. I think that we stick to our plan and I think we play a really good game over. We were good on the ball, good defensively and obviously, scoring from set pieces always helps in a match like this to open it up – but even in open play with a lot of chances, we played a strong game.”
Looking forward to the coming weeks: “Obviously we reached our first goal, which was to get to these two playoff matches because of the situation that we are in. We have two more matches going into the next two weeks, but that is what we wanted and it will be our next step.”
On the atmosphere at Millerntor-Stadion and the travelling fans: “I want to thank our fans, I think that they really showed up in numbers, which really helped us; even before the match, we could feel that our fans were out there singing and that everyone was looking at things positively. But I think that in general, I think it was an amazing atmosphere for both teams, a nice match to play – and of course, respect to Pauli, their stadium and the atmosphere was also great.”