In the midst of turbulent weeks, 1. FC Köln missed a liberating blow in the derby. Coach Steffen Baumgart’s team only managed a 0-0 draw against arch-rivals Borussia Mönchengladbach and still has to wait for their first win in seven weeks.
The distance to the relegation place is still six points. “We worked well and deserved the win. It was a step in the right direction. We need the points,” said midfielder Kingsley Schindler at DAZN.
There was no lack of commitment and will in the 96th Bundesliga derby from Cologne, but FC was too imprecise when it came to the numerous chances, especially in the first half. The Gladbachers, who have now only won one game in 13 away games this season, were able to rely on their strong goalkeeper Jonas Omlin. It was the sixth game in a row without a win for FC, four of which were lost – and if the sporting concerns weren’t big enough, the club would also have to deal with an imminent transfer ban.
According to a FIFA decision, FC is not allowed to sign any new players in the next two change periods. According to the world association, the club had not behaved correctly when transferring the then 16-year-old Slovenian Jaka Cuber Potocnik. The FC is now moving to the International Court of Arbitration for Sport CAS – with an uncertain outcome.
FC Köln with more chances than Borussia Mönchengladbach
Despite all the background noise, Cologne started strong and pushed for the opening goal from the start. Davie Selke, whom Baumgart once again placed his trust in up front, had a free shot after Linton Maina had won the ball, but was denied by Omlin (2′).
A little later, Kingsley Schindler shot over the Gladbach goal, again FC had forced a ball loss (11th). And Cologne’s chances continued every minute: A free kick from Florian Kainz (22′) flew just wide, a shot from Schindler was parried by Omlin (28′) – and the Swiss goalkeeper was also quick to react against Eric Martel (38′).
FC coach Baumgart clapped on the sidelines, whistled and shouted his team forward. The only thing he wasn’t satisfied with was the way he converted his chances, defensively his team didn’t allow Gladbach a single opportunity.
This changed briefly in the second round. Marcus Thuram (50th) and Lars Stindl (53rd) provided the first goals for Gladbach. Schindler (54th) missed on the other side.
But it didn’t go further with this number of strokes, Cologne were still the more active team. Baumgart brought in Steffen Tigges for the hapless Selke and Dejan Ljubicic for Schindler. The two newcomers then initiated a promising attack together, but Tigges’ finish after a pass from Ljubicic was too harmless (65′).
1. FC Cologne – Borussia Mönchengladbach: The data for the game
