St. Pauli climbed off the bottom of the Bundesliga table with a goalless home draw against Hamburg, yet the result did not shrink the distance to their direct relegation rival, as both teams collected
a single point that keeps the survival battle tense in the lower positions.
The city derby at Millerntor-Stadion produced few clear openings, with both sides playing cautiously for long spells, and St. Pauli creating only 0.26 expected goals from eight attempts while Hamburg registered 0.35 expected goals from five shots in a match where defences, rather than forwards, shaped the outcome.
Hamburg’s away struggles continued despite the draw, as Hamburger are still the only team without an away win in the Bundesliga this season, standing on three points from nine road matches with a record of three draws and six defeats, a sequence that mirrors the club’s worst historical runs from 1972-73 when HSV went 14 away league games without victory.
The first half offered very little to the spectators hoping for derby drama, and the main incident before the break came inside the opening 10 minutes when Alexander Rossing-Lelesiit had to leave the pitch after a challenge from Adam Dzwigala, forcing an early substitution that disrupted Hamburg’s plans but did not significantly change the low tempo of the game.
After half-time, there was a brief rise in attacking intent as Fabio Vieira and Luka Vuskovic both tried to find a breakthrough for Hamburg, while Danel Sinani and Arkadiusz Pyrka tested goalkeeper Daniel Heuer Fernandes at the other end, yet neither goalkeeper was beaten and the match remained finely balanced.
The closing phase underlined the cautious approach from both benches, because there were no shots recorded after the 81st minute as St. Pauli and Hamburg appeared unwilling to commit extra players forward, preferring to secure one point rather than chase three and risk suffering a damaging late defeat against a direct rival in the relegation picture.
In a game where attackers rarely influenced the contest, Tottenham loanee Luka Vuskovic stood out at centre-back for Hamburg, winning 12 of 14 duels, including 10 of 12 in the air, while also leading the match with 137 touches and 100 successful passes, narrowly behind only team-mate Nicolas Capaldo in total duels won with 13.
Remis im Stadtderby. #nurderHSV pic.twitter.com/GFu1OwATxHHamburger SV (@HSV) January 23, 2026
The draw slightly improved St. Pauli’s position by lifting the club off the foot of the Bundesliga standings, yet the gap to Hamburg stayed the same, leaving both clubs still locked in a tight fight for safety with future fixtures, especially away from home for HSV, likely to carry major weight in the relegation battle.
