The carnival can come: On Sunday (February 12th, 2023) strong Cologne residents celebrated a well-deserved victory over Eintracht Frankfurt at the end of the 20th matchday of the Bundesliga.
In the end, the 3-0 (0-0) was fine because FC had shown a passionate performance, with enormous tactical discipline and great dedication in the duels.
Setback in the battle for the premier class
The Cologne team has thus arrived in the middle of the table and – very important for the fans – have caught up with Rhine rivals Borussia Mönchengladbach. Frankfurt suffered a setback in the fight for renewed participation in the Champions League.
Eintracht had started the game with a lot of pressure and pushed Cologne deep into their own half. However, there were no clear chances at first because FC went to work with great concentration in the last line. In the 11th minute things got tight for Cologne keeper Marvin Schwäbe, but Jesper Lindström’s cross let Mario Götze and Randal Kolo Muani pass.
VAR luck for FC
In the 18th minute, Cologne was lucky again. In a scuffle in the penalty area, FC defender Eric Martel pushed the ball out of the danger zone with his arm, and the VAR recommended that referee Daniel Siebert check it on the video screen. Siebert didn’t give the penalty kick that was actually due because he thought that Martel played the ball more in the chest and upper arm area and thus probably didn’t increase his body size – from Cologne’s point of view it could have been worse.
What the guests did well was switching after winning the ball. In the 20th minute, Denis Huseinbašić showed himself to be on the offensive, but it took too long to find the end (20′). In the next lightning counterattack, Linton Maina missed with his cross from Steffen Tigges (24th), before it became really tight for Cologne again in the direct counterattack – but Benno Schmitz cleared with excellent timing in front of Kolo Muani, who was ready to score.
After that, the game flattened out more and more, both teams neutralized each other in midfield. Only Jonas Hector had another decent opportunity after a free kick just before the break, but his volley just missed the left angle.
Kainz flank loosens the knot
Shortly after the change, a corner variation from FC broke the knot. Florian Kainz played a one-two with Maina, then Kainz smashed the cross into the center – where a mini-contact from Timo Hübers with his head was enough to overcome Kevin Trapp, who was too hesitant to run out, in the Eintracht goal (49th).
And the FC almost did it again. The Cologne class played an attack-like 4:2 counterattack. When Tigges unselfishly crossed again in front of the Frankfurt goal, Eintracht defender Evan Ndicka was able to slide in between in dire need. But FC remained stubborn in the duels and thus let Eintracht come into play less and less.
Counter goal is the preliminary decision
The 2-0 in the 71st minute was well deserved: again after a quick transition, Sargis Adamyan, who had just come on, was denied by Trapp, but Ellyes Skhiri headed the rebound into the empty goal. Only in the 73rd minute did Frankfurt get a shot at the Eintracht goal, but Schwäbe boxed Phillip Max’s volley from the left corner.
It wasn’t really a threat for Schwaebe after that, instead FC even stepped up their game again. A ball from Eintracht’s defense that had been saved too short was stopped by Skhiri with his chest and chased it slightly deflected past Trapp to make it 3-0 (86′).
Cologne in Stuttgart, Frankfurt welcomes Bremen
On Matchday 21, 1. FC Köln will have to fight for points in Stuttgart (Saturday, February 18, 2023 at 3:30 p.m.). Frankfurt plays SV Werder Bremen at home three hours later.