1. FC Köln is experiencing a devastating 24th Bundesliga matchday. The Billy Goats are once again in the middle of a relegation battle and now have to accept it.
The 1. FC Cologne is once again one of the worst relegation candidates in the Bundesliga after 24 match days. After the billy goats had spent a long time in the middle of the table, this weekend FC dragged them back down to the bottom. Because after Cologne’s defeat in Augsburg the competition didn’t score points on Saturday, the table now speaks for itself.
In February without a win (only one point from four games), FC lost the big lead they had gained in January with two wins against their direct competition. But now this competition is back within striking distance of FC and senses the Billy Goats’ weakness. Because they are just staggering through the league.
For a long time, FC could at least convince themselves that they were still playing good football despite a few defeats. They stood up to Leipzig and Stuttgart, but were not rewarded. They could have beaten Hoffenheim, but in the end they made too many mistakes, even if they got one point. But the defeat in Augsburg must ring alarm bells.
Because there the FC was defeated by a calm team that wasn’t much better. But Cologne revealed so many weaknesses that victory was never even within reach. If a team in the Bundesliga doesn’t get any points when they play well, and then at some point plays badly and doesn’t get any points, this is usually the beginning of a whirlpool that can end in relegation.
Can, not must. It is now up to those responsible. Lukas Kwasniok as head coach now has three games until the international break to draw the necessary conclusions and get FC back on track. If he succeeds, FC can save itself. If he doesn’t succeed, another head coach could have the chance to try again from April.
Thomas Kessler has to decide on this. The sports director knows that the team could actually be doing better and that the squad is badly decimated due to major injury problems. The task in the coming weeks will therefore not be easy. But it is important to accept them. Because only those who are aware that the Bundesliga is only about survival will play like that. St. Pauli, Mainz and Augsburg have been showing this for weeks. Not the FC. That’s the problem. And that needs to be solved.
