Interim coach René Wagner won an important point on his debut with relegation-threatened 1. FC Köln in the Bundesliga.
In the first game under Lukas Kwasniok’s successor, FC showed great morale against European Cup hopefuls Eintracht Frankfurt and came back from a 2-0 deficit to a 2-2 (0-0).
Jakub Kaminski (70th) and Alessio Castro-Montes (83rd) equalized for Cologne. Jonathan Burkardt (66th) and Arnaud Kalimuendo (69th) had previously put Frankfurt in front. Even though there was no win in the eighth game in a row under Wagner, who took over as coach shortly before the international break, the draw in the relegation battle was of great value.
With 27 points, Cologne is 15th in the table. six points ahead of VfL Wolfsburg in the first direct relegation spot. There are two points to FC St. Pauli in the relegation place. Head coach Albert Riera’s Eintracht remain in seventh place in the table, two points ahead of their pursuers SC Freiburg.
Before his premiere on Easter Sunday, Wagner felt above all “anticipation”, as he said on DAZN: “The boys are hot. They don’t need much more from me, maybe a little push.” As announced, he relied on young star Said El Mala from the start; FC would be doing itself a “no favor” by not fielding the U21 national player at the moment, Wagner said.
The Cologne team narrowly missed the dream start. During a kick-off variation, the Frankfurt defenders went on the offensive for a long ball – and Cologne countered. Keeper Michael Zetterer allowed Kaminski’s shot to ricochet forward, but then threw himself strongly into Ragnar Ache’s follow-up shot (1st) and prevented the score from falling behind.
1. FC Cologne counters Frankfurt’s double strike
Shaken up by the opportunity, Eintracht, where 2014 world champion Mario Götze initially sat on the bench after his contract extension during the week, took control. Ansgar Knauff prevailed in a duel after a strong pass from Hugo Larsson, but shot just wide (24′). The eye-catching Kalimuendo, who was free after a long ball from Oscar Höjlund, also didn’t aim accurately enough.
The Cologne team rarely came to relief, but when they did, they posed greater danger than the hosts. Goals like El Mala’s shot (26′) remained exceptions. During FC’s second strong counterattack, Kaminski missed the ball at the last moment and Zetterer intervened again (41′).
Despite significantly more control of the game, Frankfurt found it difficult to become really dangerous. An individual action had to help. Substitute Farès Chaibi started his solo run and found Burkardt in the middle, who shot in from close range. A few minutes later, Kalimuendo shot from behind and increased, but Kaminski also scored in return. Castro-Montes rewarded the guests for their great effort.
