Against Werder Bremen, 1. FC Cologne was in the lead in the Bundesliga on Saturday (September 23rd, 2023) – but came away empty-handed. In the end, the aluminum prevented Cologne from scoring an equalizer.
The goals for SV Werder Bremen in the 2-1 (1-1) win were scored by Rafael Borré (38th minute) and Justin Njinmah (67th). Davie Selke had previously given 1. FC Köln the lead (31st). “It was very important for us that we gave the right answer to the deficit”said Bremen’s coach Ole Werner to ARD radio.
It was Cologne’s fourth defeat in their fifth league game, FC are in 16th place with just one point. Werder Bremen climbed to 10th place after their second win of the season, at least for one night.
Cologne starts boldly – and is lucky for once
The guests from Cologne got off to a better start in this encounter, but FC initially failed to score. Werder goalkeeper Jiri Pavlenka was there for a shot from Linton Maina (14th), and a shot from Dejan Ljubicic was deflected by Amos Pieper for a corner shortly afterwards (16th).
Werder Bremen had the best chance in the first half hour: Mitchell Weiser played a fine pass to Romano Schmid. As Schmid was about to shoot, Denis Huseinbasic knocked the ball off his foot. However, his attempt to clear the ball almost slipped into the Cologne goal, only centimeters missing (27′).
Selke puts Cologne in the lead, Bremen’s Borré equalizes
The first goal in this game came from a corner. Cologne’s Florian Kainz brought the dead ball in front of the goal with a lot of cutting, then Jeff Chabot headed it. Werder’s Oliver Deman fended off his attempt in front of the line, only for the ball to end up at Selke, who scored with a header from close range.
There wasn’t much to suggest an equalizer for Werder at this stage, but it did happen. Marvin Ducksch played a very fine pass, Rafael Borré finished coldly – 1:1.
Werder’s joker Njinmah makes the decision
In the second half there was no longer any sign of Cologne’s dominance; Werder now dominated the game. “In the second half we leave our path. That’s my job”said Cologne coach Steffen Baumgart to ARD radio. “That’s not enough to win in the Bundesliga.”
Cologne goalkeeper Marvin Schwäbe made a strong save when Schmid shot (46′). A good twenty minutes later, Schwäbe was also defeated: Senne Lynen uncovered gaps in the FC defense with a pass, and Njinmah benefited. Bremen’s Joker appeared free in front of Schwäbe and scored the 2-1 winner.
FC-Joker Downs only hits aluminum
FC almost equalized shortly before the end when Joker Damion Downs headed the ball after a free kick from Kainz. Downs hit the ball well, but it didn’t hit the goal. His attempt hit the post.
Cologne welcomes VfB and Bremen visits Darmstadt
1. FC Köln will host VfB Stuttgart next matchday (Saturday, September 30, 2023 at 3:30 p.m.). A day later, Werder is challenged by the newly promoted team in Darmstadt (3:30 p.m.).