News blog about 1. FC Cologne
Late equalizer: FC fights for a draw against Frankfurt
Updated April 5, 2026 – 7:39 p.mReading time: 6 minutes
1. FC Köln is fighting to stay in the Bundesliga. In the news blog on t-online you will find all the important news about the Geißbockheim.
The 1. FC Cologne fought to a 2-2 draw at Eintracht Frankfurt – after a deficit that looked like defeat for a long time.
The game seemed lost until the 69th minute. Jonathan Burkardt took the lead for Frankfurt in the 66th minute. Three minutes later, Arnaud Kalimuendo increased the score to 2-0. Then Cologne struck back: Jakub Kaminski reduced the score to 1:2 in the 70th minute, and Alessio Castro-Montes equalized to 2:2 in the 83rd minute. Four goals in 17 minutes.
It was René Wagner’s first Bundesliga game as Cologne head coach. The club had previously fired Lukas Kwasniok as coach. A win was not achieved even under the new coach – for Cologne it was the eighth game in a row without three points. After the 28th matchday, Cologne is in 15th place, two points ahead of the relegation zone. This is occupied by FC St. Pauli.
Frankfurt missed its fourth home win in a row under coach Albert Riera and remains seventh in the table. The final phase was overshadowed by a rescue operation in the stands.
One day before the away game at Eintracht Frankfurt, 1. FC Cologne is worried about Jahmai Simpson-Pusey. The Englishman completed the final training session on Saturday afternoon, but did not get on the team bus for the trip to the Main metropolis.
For a short time, personal reasons meant that Simpson-Pusey was staying with his family and not making the trip. However, FC did not rule out on Saturday that the 20-year-old central defender could travel to Frankfurt at short notice on Sunday and still be used.
René Wagner is relying on Said El Mala as the new head coach of 1. FC Köln on Sunday at Eintracht Frankfurt. The 19-year-old was guaranteed a starting eleven on Good Friday and is expected to help the Billy Goats win the SGE.
“For me, Said is a difference player – he can do that from the bench, he can do that from the start,” said Wagner at his first press conference as head coach of the Billy Goats. Then the 37-year-old added: “But I think we’re currently doing ourselves a disservice not having Said in the starting line-up.”
