On Saturday afternoon (04.02.23) 1. FC Köln won a point against the top team from RB Leipzig with a committed performance at 0-0.
Cologne goalkeeper Schwäbe defused a great Leipzig chance in the first half of the game (26′), FC failed twice in a double chance on aluminum (37′).
Powerful start for the teams
In the high-class game, both teams started powerfully and always with a train towards the opposing goal. The Cologne team missed converting one of their numerous standard chances into something countable. On the other hand, Leipzig got stuck several times on the counterattack.
The first big chance for the guests was destroyed by Marvin Schwäbe, who made an excellent save against André Silva, who was eleven meters in front of the goal (26th). As a result, the Cologne team found it difficult to get into the opposing 16s.
But in the 37th minute, the goal celebrations died on the lips of the Cologne fans: After a through pass, Linton Maina was free in front of RB keeper Janis Blaswich and pulled away. The shot hit the left post, Dejan Ljubicic threw the follow-up shot over the box via the top edge of the crossbar.
Werner gate not recognized
Section two started with a bang: Silva served Timo Werner in the center of the penalty area, and the ball quickly wriggled in the net. But the Portuguese was close when the ball was passed to him, but clearly offside.
Even without a goal, the game remained intense and exciting. Cologne braced itself against the playful class of the guests and did not give up. The Leipzig ball distributors Laimer and Dominik Szoboszlai in the center rarely had time to organize the game.
Rose responded by substituting Sweden’s Emil Forsberg (68′), who had scored against TSG Hoffenheim in the DFB Cup during the week. Cologne continued to wait for a counterattack. Baumgart brought in the fresh attacking players Jan Thielmann and Davie Selke to keep the pressure on the Leipzig defence.
Selke out again with a knee injury
Again, Leipzig were a bit more dangerous in the build-up of the game, but without being able to put Schwäbe under pressure. And before Schwäbe even had to intervene in the 77th minute, Julian Chabot was spot on and saved a controlled shot from Benjamin Henrichs for a corner. Unfortunately, Selke had to be substituted in the closing stages with a knee injury after just 14 minutes of play.
Cologne celebrated a point win against the highly ambitious Leipzig. Coach Marco Rose’s team remained undefeated in the 18th game in a row and thus set the club’s record.
Cologne at home against Frankfurt
On the 20th matchday of the Bundesliga, 1. FC Köln will play Eintracht Frankfurt at home (Sunday, February 12th, 2023 at 5:30 p.m.). Leipzig is challenged the day before at their home stadium against Union Berlin (6:30 p.m.).