NAfter the late home win, the Cologne team darkened the stadium and celebrated their team at the finals, touched winning goal scorer Anthony Modeste hugged his happy colleagues and wept in the arms of coach Steffen Baumgart. “I lost my papa three years ago on December 19th. And I think my dad was there for me for this campaign, ”said match winner Modeste in an interview with DAZN. “We got 25 points in the first half of the season. But that’s only half the season, now we have to enjoy Christmas first.
The Swabians, plagued by major injury concerns throughout the first half of the season, received a deserved 0: 1 (0: 0) defeat at 1. FC Köln on Sunday evening at the end of the first half of the season and hibernated with 17 points as table-16. Modeste scored the winning goal for Cologne (88th minute), who had previously missed numerous chances. It was the Frenchman’s eleventh goal of the season.
Stuttgart coach Pellegrino Matarazzo stayed there for a few seconds, then he walked past the bench with a disappointed look to clap and disappeared directly into the dressing room. VfB spends Christmas on the relegation pitch of the Bundesliga.
“Today we had the chance to crown the first half of the season – and we did that with the late goal,” said substitute Kingsley Schindler from Cologne. The Stuttgart, on the other hand, are now longing for the complete recovery of their long-injured offensive stars Silas Katompa Mvumpa and Sasa Kalajdzic. Sports director Sven Mislintat also ruled out newcomers in winter with a view to them before the game.
The FC, who avoided relegation in the previous season, ended the first half series under the new coach Steffen Baumgart in a respectable eighth place with 25 points. The Europa League ranks are only two points away, while VfB is eight points away.
Cologne with an unchanged starting XI
In the last Bundesliga game of the calendar year 2021, the superior Cologne team were denied two goals because of a handball and an offside position in the early stages (3rd / 10th minute). The FC, who avoided relegation in the previous season, finished the first half series under the new coach Steffen Baumgart in a respectable eighth place. The Europa League ranks are one point closer than the relegation place.
FC went into the game for the first time under Baumgart with an unchanged starting XI. VfB, on the other hand, made an offensive move after the 0-5 during the week against FC Bayern: Former Cologne-based Chris Führich and Mateo Klimowicz replace Marc Oliver Kampf and Atakan Karazor, who had a cold.
But right from the start, FC was on the trigger – thanks to Anthony Modeste, they even scored quickly. Because passer-by Florian Kainz had previously touched the ball with his hand, the goal did not count. Seven minutes later, the guests were even more lucky: After Louis Schaub’s remarkable shot under the crossbar, the Cologne team cheered longer, but this time a very close offside position from Modeste prevented the goal from being recognized.
As a result, the game flattened out. VfB was more secure now, but still did not set any offensive accents. Cologne found fewer resources and only had one good opportunity before the break when Modeste just headed past (42nd).
After the change, the Stuttgart were initially more active. When Omer Marmoush shot from an acute angle, Cologne goalkeeper Marvin Schwänke had to seriously intervene for the first time (51st). Five minutes later, Baumgart showed where he saw the greatest potential for improvement: With Schaub, Sebastian Andersson and Ondrej Duda, he took three of his five offensive players off the field, with Florian Kainz the fourth left later.
The one who stayed was the constant: Modeste narrowly missed after Jonas Hector crossed (65th). 20 minutes before the end, VfB coach Pellegrino Matarazzo also made a three-fold change, including Silas. But Modeste had the next chance again, who moved from ten meters (73rd). Shortly before the end, he did better.
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