1. FC Cologne lost Saturday evening’s match in the second division against 1. FC Magdeburg 1:2. Given the course of the game and the number of chances for the Rhinelanders, this seemed almost unbelievable.
1. FC Magdeburg celebrates the goal to make it 1:2 by Jean Hugonet (#24). Cologne’s Dejan Ljubicic trudges away in disbelief.
IMAGO/Treese
FC coach Gerhard Struber made one change to his starting eleven after the 3-1 win at Schalke. Captain Hübers, who had recently been ill, returned and Heintz moved to the bench.
Magdeburg’s coach Christian Titz, however, made three changes despite the 4-0 win in Nuremberg. Hoti started in defense in place of the injured Mathisen (missing from the squad), and Krempicki and Atik, who has only played 16 minutes this season due to a muscle injury and dental surgery, replaced El-Zein and Ceka (both on the bench).
2. Bundesliga, 5th matchday
Cologne doesn’t score
The hosts made it clear from minute 1 which direction the game was going. After just five minutes, there were four notable penalty area scenes, but only Maina (2nd) and Huseinbasic (4th) managed to score. A pattern emerged early in the game that was basically the same for the entire first half: there was no shortage of goals, but efficiency in front of goal was lacking.
Pauli’s header (9th) and the unmarked Ljubicic (14th) were also unable to push the ball over the line. Keyword: pushing the ball over the line: Four minutes later, only Lemperle had to do that, but because El Hankouri deflected the ball onto the post with a monster tackle, the score remained 0:0 (18th).
Ljubicic (24th, 33rd, 42nd), Downs (30th), Thielmann (39th), Lemperle (40th), they all had shots on goal every minute – at half-time, the total was 18 (!). From Cologne’s point of view, things could only have been worse if Kaars (45th+1) and Heber (45th+2) had punished the lack of efficiency shortly before half-time.
Downs’ lead doesn’t last long
After the break, it suddenly seemed as if the hosts had found the answer, as Downs scored the long-overdue lead in the 49th minute. But the efficiency did not last long, as Magdeburg were lucky not to have conceded a 0-2 goal straight away. Lemperle (51st) and Downs (55th, 57th), including a shot that was deflected twice onto the post, missed further top chances.
On the other side, Kaars had a great chance to equalize out of nowhere, but his lob landed in the arms of Urbig (60′). But Magdeburg suddenly seemed to be there in the second half. Six minutes later, substitute Michel took advantage of a moment of inattention in the Cologne defense after a short free kick to equalize (66′).
Hugonet shocks Effzeh again
Cologne of course wanted to regain the lead straight away, but again the ball just wouldn’t go into the net. After Ljubicic’s and Paqarada’s double chance (70th minute) and Downs’ slapstick finish (75th minute), the constant pressure eased a little. As a result, Magdeburg also believed in victory, so the game became more open.
Accordingly, it was not entirely surprising that Hugonet scored the 2:1 in the 83rd minute. However, given the fortunate outcome and especially the remaining time, it was completely absurd that Effzeh had to play catch-up in the final minutes. Apart from a header by Hübers (90th minute), Effzeh were unable to get close to the opposing goal.
Magdeburg remains undefeated
The score remained 1:2, which the Billy Goats only had to blame themselves for, as they had 33 shots on goal that only resulted in one goal. The guests from Magdeburg remained unbeaten in their fifth league game of the season. Cologne, on the other hand, suffered their second defeat after the 1:2 in their opening game against HSV.
Goals and cards
1:0
Downs (49′)
1:1
Michel (66′)
Game data
Köln
Magdeburg
Referee team
Richard Hempel
Großnaundorf
Spielinfo
1. FC Köln will play the Rhine derby against Fortuna Düsseldorf next Saturday (1 p.m.), while Magdeburg will host Karlsruher SC the following day (1.30 p.m.).
