1. FC Köln won the prestigious derby against Borussia Mönchengladbach 4-1 – the foals assisted with serious mistakes in the final phase.
Steffen Baumgart stretched his arms up towards the sky and clenched his hands into fists: Meanwhile, the fans of 1. FC Köln among the 50,000 made the RheinEnergie Stadium a madhouse – the billy goats won the controversial derby with 4: 1 (0: 0) the arch rivals Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Both teams threw a lot of passion into the scales, but in the end Borussia paved the way for the emotional FC victory with two fatal mistakes. “That is very disappointed, it was an even game. We come back 1-1, then we make a mistake,” said Gladbach keeper Yann Sommer Sky.
Dejan Ljubicic (55th), Mark Uth (77th), Ondrej Duda (78th) and Sebastian Andersson (90th + 3) shot FC in the 93rd duel to only 26th victory. In the table, Cologne overtook Mönchengladbach with 18 points. The Gladbachers had bad luck with two aluminum hits by Denis Zakaria (42nd) and Alassane Plea (62nd). Jonas Hofmann (74th) managed to equalize in the meantime.
“We’ll get two days off and have a few beers,” said Uth after Cologne’s redeeming victory, after the last five games without a threesome. Baumgart added: “In the end it was earned over the whole game.” The coach definitely wants to give in to Uth’s request for no training, he revealed.
Rhine derby: full hut despite corona numbers
Much had been discussed in advance that, despite the high number of infections, 50,000 spectators were allowed into the stadium under 2G conditions. Shortly before the start of the game, the Cologne health department ordered that masks are also required on the courts. Despite repeated requests from the stadium announcer, not all spectators adhered to it.
The fans saw a heated and competitive, but by no means high-class derby from the start. Cologne tried to put the playfully superior Gladbachers under pressure with high pressing.
So Cologne forced ball wins again and again, but the first real scoring chance was a long time coming. It was only in the 29th minute that Duda came to a dangerous conclusion at the end of a beautiful combination, but Sommer was there. Shortly afterwards, the Gladbach goalkeeper reacted with lightning speed to a header from Anthony Modeste (35th) from close range.
On the other hand, Marvin Schwänke only got the opportunity to excel in the final phase of the first half of his first Bundesliga game. The representative of the injured goalkeeper Timo Horn parried in the 41st with a little luck against Patrick Herrmann, then Zakaria hit the far right post from a distance.
Neuhaus serves Cologne the derby victory – Uth becomes a hero
After the break, Cologne had to cope with captain Jonas Hector’s injury (51st). But that did not unsettle the FC, Ljubicic hit the corner after a strong combination.
After the goal, the game became even more heated, and Gladbach tried to respond quickly. Plea hit the post from the spin, national player Hofmann (65th) shot just past – and Schwabi (67th) also cleared in dire need.
Gladbach’s coach Adi Hütter then brought in Florian Neuhaus and Marcus Thuram (66th) two fresh forces to force the equalizer. The goal earned in this phase was achieved by Hofmann.
But instead of adding more, Gladbach blundered in the build-up of the game. Uth intercepted a sloppy pass from Neuhaus and took the lead, 90 seconds later Duda followed suit. Andersson brought it to a close.
1. FC Cologne – Borussia Mönchengladbach: The voices
Steffen Baumgart (coach 1. FC Cologne): “In the phase in which we made it 2-1, I had the feeling that the game could tip over. With the one-two punch, it went in our direction. We are happy about the win and the team’s performance. In the end we pushed it our way, but it’s just a snapshot. “
Adi Hütter (coach Borussia Mönchengladbach): “There is a very big disappointment in terms of the result. It’s really too high. In the phase in which we scored the equalizer, I had the feeling we could win. That’s why the disappointment is very, very big I take 100 percent responsibility. It’s very, very uncomfortable to lose like that in the first derby for me as a coach. “
1. FC Köln – Borussia Mönchengldbach: The line-ups
- Cologne: Schwabe – Schmitz, Kilian, Czichos, Hector – Skhiri, Ljubicic, Özcan, Duda, Kainz – Modeste
- Gladbach: Summer – Ginter, Elvedi, Bensebaini – Herrmann, Koné, Zakaria, Scally, Hofmann, Stindl – Plea
