Even in the third game under coach Jess Thorup, FC Augsburg remains undefeated in the Bundesliga. At 1. FC Köln on Saturday (November 4th, 2023), FCA achieved a 1-1 (1-1) draw after falling behind.
Linton Maina (16th) had put Cologne, who were initially superior, in the lead. Philipp Tietz (25th) equalized for the guests in the first half. “It could go either way. We believed in it after being behind,” said Augsburg coach Thorup to the Sportschau.
While Augsburg is collecting point by point under Thorup and is already some distance away from the relegation places with 12 points, 1. FC Köln slips into last place with five points.
“One goal is simply not enough. We had enough chances,” said Cologne’s Florian Kainz angrily at the Sportschau microphone. Teammate Mark Uth, in the starting lineup for the first time this season after injury problems, was annoyed: “We have to score the goals.” And coach Steffen Baumgart was just surprised: “They mess things up in training.”
Cologne’s Luca Waldschmidt sets the first example
Cologne started with commitment and determination and showed themselves early in front of the Augsburg goal. After a relay of the ball over several stations, Steffen Tigges claimed the ball on the edge of the penalty area against three opponents and placed it across the center. Luca Waldschmidt came out of the backcourt and fired his 18-meter shot just past the goal (7′).
In front of their home crowd, Cologne appeared willing to forget the 6-0 Bundesliga disaster in Leipzig and the cup exit at second-tier 1. FC Kaiserslautern. The reward came in the 16th minute when Waldschmidt, who was very agile in the early stages, made his way from the outside into the penalty area. The cross was deflected and landed in the center of Maina, who made it 1-0 with a direct pass.
Augsburg is not shocked by the deficit
Augsburg, already used to being behind from previous games, did not hide. Just three minutes after Maina’s goal, the ball landed in the Cologne net. But Tietz was offside when he scored (19′). A little later, however, the time had come: Robert Gumny moved into the penalty area from the right. The ball landed at Tietz via Fredrik Jensen and he shot in from five meters to make it 1-1.
In return, Eric Martel had Cologne’s renewed lead, but was denied by Finn Dahmen’s strong reaction in the FCA goal. Until the break, an open game developed without any major excitement towards the goal – with one exception: In the final phase, Augsburg’s Niklas Dorsch hit the crossbar of the Cologne goal (41′).
Cologne had enough chances after the break
Both teams continued to look for a way forward in the second half. Mark Uth (48th) and Waldschmidt (51st) failed to get the ball in from a promising position. On the other hand, Ermedin Demirovic also didn’t hit the ball correctly (52′). Overall, however, Cologne developed more momentum towards the goal. The ball just didn’t want to go into the net.
Maina was intercepted by FCA defender Jeffrey Gouweleeuw at the last second during a counterattack (70th). As in the first half, Augsburg got better towards the end in the second 45 minutes. Ruben Vargas (77th). hit the post with a beautiful shot from the turn. Substitute Arne Engels also failed to get the ball into the goal on a counterattack (87′). Ultimately it remained 1-1, which helped Augsburg more than 1. FC Cologne.
Augsburg welcomes Hoffenheim, Cologne in Bochum
The Fuggerstadt team will host TSG Hoffenheim next matchday (Saturday, November 11th, 2023 at 3:30 p.m.). In the evening game, 1. FC Köln will face VfL Bochum in the basement duel (6.30 p.m.).