2. Bundesliga Topspiel: Dresden get their revenge in the Elb-Clasico

Thomas Stamm’s side repaid the favour for their home defeat to Magdeburg on matchday two, as a late first-half strike from January arrival Thomas Keller sealed a 2-1 comeback win in the East German derby - three vital points for a Dresden side currently residing in the bottom two.

With the Avnet-Arena turned into an absolute cauldron by both sets of supporters, the players were tasked with matching the intensity on the pitch. Dresden started the brighter of the two and went close inside six minutes, Jakob Lemmer breaking through on goal only to fire over the bar.

Magdeburg gradually wrestled back control and, after Žukowski had earlier struck the post, the hosts took the lead on 29 minutes as their deadly duo struck once more. Jonas Sterner misjudged a cross-field pass, allowing Baris Atik to collect down the left before curling a teasing delivery onto the boot of Mateusz Żukowski, who finished clinically for his fourth goal in as many games.

Just five minutes later, redemption arrived for Dresden. Magdeburg failed to deal with a corner, with Dominik Reimann unable to gather under pressure, allowing Kofi Amoako to react quickest and fire home the rebound to level matters at 1-1.

Deep into first-half stoppage time, Dresden completed the turnaround. A long ball into the box was expertly nodded down by Vincent Vermeij before finding Amoako out wide. His deflected cross looped invitingly to the back post, where Keller arrived to squeeze his effort past Reimann, sending the away end into raptures and giving Dresden a 2-1 lead at the break.

The second half began at a much slower tempo - though not in the stands - as heavy pyro smoke briefly halted proceedings and disrupted the rhythm further. Magdeburg dominated possession in search of an equaliser, but it was Dresden who nearly put the contest beyond doubt. With 15 minutes remaining, Vermeij drove into the penalty area and unleashed a low effort, only for Reimann to produce a strong save and keep the hosts in the contest.

With a lengthy stoppage resulting in 11 minutes of added time, Dresden were forced into a nervy finale as Magdeburg threw bodies forward and peppered the box with crosses. Marcus Mathisen came closest with a powerful header straight at Tim Schreiber, but the visitors held firm to see out the result and secure both the points and the derby bragging rights.

Dresden make it back-to-back victories for just the second time this season. While they remain 19th, Stamm’s side have closed the gap significantly and now sit just one point from safety. Magdeburg, meanwhile, suffer their first defeat since mid-November - a result that will sting all the more given the occasion - though Petrik Sander will hope it proves nothing more than a minor blip as his side aim to continue pulling clear of trouble.