In the international arena, the season was disappointing despite two victories in the first round of the UEFA Cup against Arsenal. Borussia lost in the second round of the first leg 2–4 against AS Monaco, the most recent victory Borussia reached with a 1–0 in Monaco, but were eliminated from the competition. In the season 1998–99 Borussia won 3–0 against FC Schalke 04 on Matchday 1 and was at the top of the table for the first time in 13 years. As a result, the team lost six matches and drew two draws, so they stood on the ninth day at the bottom of the table. On the tenth and eleventh round followed by a 2:8 defeat against Bayer 04 Leverkusen and a 1:7 at Vfl Wolfsburg two high defeats in a row. The team remained until the end of the season in 18th place. After a total of 21 lost games, the consequence was the first descent from the Bundesliga. As a consequence of the descent, several top performers, including goalkeeper Robert Enke, defender Patrik Andersson and midfielder Karlheinz Pflipsen and Sebastian Deisler all left the club.