0:1, 1:1, 1:2, 2:2, 3:2, 3:3: Borussia Mönchengladbach and 1. FC Köln had a wild exchange of blows in the Rhenish derby. The voices for the game.
Just five goals had been scored in 1. FC Cologne’s previous three games against Bayer Leverkusen (0:2), VfB Stuttgart (1:1) and Werder Bremen (0:1) – there were a total of six goals on Saturday afternoon 3:3 in the Rhenish derby in Mönchengladbach. “That was a contrast to the games of the last few weeks, when things were definitely quieter in both directions,” said Cologne central defender Timo Hübers afterwards.
Timo Schultz spoke of a “great football game”; he had never seen such a spectacle from his team. “Most of the spectators probably went home happy,” said the FC coach. Schultz and his professionals, on the other hand, had mixed feelings – unsurprisingly, after two wasted leads thanks to Faride Alidou’s brace (7th/64th) and the 3-3 equalizer by Damion Downs (79th). “I’m still deciding whether I should be angry or happy,” Hübers asked for time to think about it.
This is what the coaches said about the game
Timo Schultz: “As coaches, we also saw some things that we didn’t like. Nevertheless, we played the best offensive game since I’ve been here. We solved some things really well, scored three goals, and there could have been a few more. But we allowed too much at the back and had problems on the wings. The 3-3 is okay. There was a lot going on, there’s a lot for us to analyze to see what we can do better – but it was a step forward right direction and a point that we are happy to take with us.”
Gerardo Seoane: “It was a very entertaining game with a lot of emotions at a very fair level. We created a lot today and played a lot of actions, but we weren’t clean enough in the finish. On the other hand, we didn’t defend consistently enough and lost the compactness at times Lost. Nevertheless, we always got back into the game and played forward until the end. We are disappointed because we were not able to give the spectators a derby win. That’s why we go home with mixed feelings.”
The voices of the FC players
Florian Kainz: “I have to say, the game is really difficult to grasp. It was a really wild game. Scored three goals, got three, had a lot of chances and made individual mistakes. There are a lot of positive things that we can take away, but also a few things , which we have to look at and improve. If you’re 2-3 behind, you can be happy if you go home with a point. The derby is always a heated game, today it was a bit chaotic on both sides . We switched very offensively at the back and wanted to turn the game around, but unfortunately we didn’t manage to do that. In terms of the proportion of the game and the chances, it’s a fair draw.”
Faride Alidou: “Both teams gave it their all. We’re not happy, but we’ll take the point, in our situation we have to fight for every point. I’m not even looking at the table at the moment, we’re concentrating on our team and want to go as quickly as possible get out of the hole down there.”
Timo Hübers: “It was a huge spectacle for the fans today, as a defensive player it’s usually not that much fun. Given the total number of chances, it’s a fair result, the pendulum could have swung to either side in the end. It probably would have ended 5-5 “We can take that point with us.”