Steffen Baumgart trembled when the final whistle sounded in the match between 1. FC Köln and Borussia Dortmund. The 1. FC Köln coach seemed to flex all his muscles at the same time in this moment of triumph, while most of the people in the Müngersdorfer Stadion let out a resounding cheer. There was relief that FC had actually brought the narrow 3-2 lead against Borussia Dortmund over time. But also enthusiasm about a breathtaking football game that people had experienced.
1. FC Köln is a phenomenal team that has the amazing ability to compensate for individual quality deficiencies with energy, determination and, last but not least, a clever coaching strategy. Baumgart, who extended his contract with FC this week, later praised his team for their “passion” and the “mentality” that Cologne had turned a 0-1 half-time deficit into a memorable victory. But it was also important for the coach to point out that his team simply played “good football” and was therefore the “deserved winner”.
In the first half, Dortmund had trouble getting through the midfield against the strong pressure from Cologne and allowed several dangerous shots. But Dejan Ljubicic (2nd minute) and Florian Kainz (29th) didn’t shoot precisely enough. However, if Dortmund found room for their combination game, it was clear before the break who the stronger top team was here.
Modeste is whistled at in Cologne
Jude Bellingham managed a number of opening actions that led to chances, the Englishman had led the Revierklub as captain in a Bundesliga game for the first time due to the absence of Marco Reus (ankle) and Mats Hummels (cold). Donyell Malen missed two excellent opportunities (27′, 41′), Karim Adeyemi gave the Cologne goalkeeper the opportunity for an impressive save with a volley from 20 meters (37′), and Julian Brandt had a nice move to make it 0-1 for refined the BVB (31st).
His team played “a good first half”, said coach Edin Terzic. Only Anthony Modeste, who moved from Cologne in the summer and was whistled at every ball contact, played weak and unlucky even in the better phases of his team. The forces of this emotional return, which some FC fans had feared, remained ineffective, and in the end it was not Modeste who was able to celebrate, but Steffen Tigges, the successor to the Frenchman on the Rhine, who was still with BVB last summer had played. Because after the break, Dortmund were almost dismantled, and Tigges, in contrast to Modeste, scored a valuable goal.
Terzic later reported that he explicitly pointed out to his players that they had to defend themselves with all their energy in the first few minutes after the break, but his team was apparently “not ready” for that. “When you see how we fought the duels in the first 15, 20 minutes of the second half, that’s not enough,” Terzic said angrily. His colleague Baumgart is known for giving his team impulses during the break that can steer a game in a new direction. The same thing happened that day. Suddenly the people of Cologne seemed more alert, more energetic, some Dortmunders were simply overrun.
After 47 minutes Ondrej Duda had a very good chance, Niklas Süle was just able to block the Slovakian’s shot, but ten minutes later FC had actually turned the game around. At first, Dortmund’s Adeyemi was in a bad position with a deep ball on Linton Maina, Florian Kainz used the subsequent cross pass to make it 1-1 (53rd). And three minutes later, Tigges headed in a corner to make it 2-1.
That’s fun: Cologne turns the game with three goals.
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Image: AP
Cologne became clearer and clearer in their actions, the audience was fascinated, and defender Timo Hübers later said that it was the “coolest half” that he had ever experienced as a player in Cologne. Especially since Ljubicic had far too much space in front of the Dortmund penalty area and scored from 16 meters to make it 3-1 (71st). Substitute Tom Rothe managed to make it 3:2 (78th) with a deflected cross, but Cologne saved their lead over time and celebrated three very valuable points.
In Dortmund, on the other hand, they could go back to the old mentality debate, but it’s kind of pointless because it doesn’t lead anywhere. New players like Nico Schlotterbeck or Salih Özcan were also signed with the idea that they could solve Dortmund’s ongoing problems with their energetic style of play. This turns out to be more and more a misjudgment. Instead of taking the lead in the table and having the chance to surpass FC Bayern to six points in a direct duel next weekend, they are now going into the biggest top game the league has to offer with a well-known feeling of crisis.
