1. FC Köln showed a courageous performance against Bayer Leverkusen, but in the end they were unable to compensate for the early sending off. When it comes to the red card, opinions differ after the game.
The conditions for 1. FC Cologne against Bayer Leverkusen were not good anyway. The league leaders traveled to Müngersdorf with a big chest after 33 unbeaten games in a row. The fact that Cologne, who were so weak offensively this season, would crack the best defense in the league seemed like a Herculean task.
After a quarter of an hour this project became practically impossible. Jan Thielmann hit Granit Xhaka from behind above the ankle. After switching on the video assistant and viewing the TV images, referee Tobias Stieler decided to send off the team – the second fastest in Cologne’s Bundesliga history.
Timo Schultz: “In my time people would have shaken hands”
“The red card was the deciding factor,” said Jeff Chabot after the game, who had not yet watched the scene. His central defender colleague Timo Hübers is different: “If you see the 14th slow-motion repetition, it looks intense. In terms of the pure feeling of being a footballer on the pitch, it wasn’t a red card. But if he is sent off, he has almost no other choice .” Sargis Adamyan was also of the opinion on the pitch “that it wasn’t a red card”. However, on the TV pictures, “of course it looks like shit.”
Meanwhile, coach Timo Schultz decided that the rule would allow the penalty to be whistled these days. Even if he himself didn’t think it was a good thing: “In my day you would have shaken hands and that was fine. It wasn’t really dynamic. The referee actually wanted to let the game continue, but was then asked to go to the monitor. In the end we had to we accept it.”
Despite the early dismissal, FC held up well and could have even equalized through Adamyan. Leverkusen themselves hardly had any chances in the second half. However, Alejandro Grimaldo was able to use the only one they had to make it 2-0 and thus make it to the preliminary decision.
The voices for the game
Timo Schultz: “The bottom line is it’s a deserved win. The game had a few moments that set the direction. We kept getting into our transition situations. We can make it 1-1, then I would have liked to have seen the remaining time here in the stadium. That “It would have been a nice 30 minutes. That’s how we get the second goal and the opponent had too much quality, especially when they had the ball. The boys gave everything and played very disciplined tactically.”
Xabi Alonso: “It was a different game after the red card. We started well in the first 15 minutes. The atmosphere was very emotional. We had the ball, but also a few problems with the pitch. We talked about being patient in the second half “We have to play with more control and not be so emotional. We knew Cologne would be dangerous on the counterattack. It’s not easy to win here.”
Timo Hübers: “The tactical approach changed due to the early red card. We had already imagined it differently. It was intense because Leverkusen is one of the best ball possession teams. However, it wasn’t a typical ‘hit the wall’ game. We didn’t We allowed a lot of chances. On the other hand, we exploited our counterattack situations well. We will now take the way we approached it when we were outnumbered and played in a tactically disciplined manner, leaving our hearts on the pitch, with us.”
Sargis Adamyan: “It was a very difficult game. I would have liked to have seen it 90 minutes eleven-on-eleven. We did well, but couldn’t score in the important phases. We were toxic and aggressive, maybe a touch too aggressive. It Now we have to give it our all next week against Gladbach.”
Jeff Chabot: “We had our chances even when we were outnumbered. If we make it 1-1 and then stay compact, it will be difficult for Leverkusen too. But of course it was a deserved win. We’ve been lacking luck in the game all season, and again today. We have to do it next We can continue the week. Today we can still be sad, but from tomorrow the focus will be on the derby. The mentality and passion is there, no matter what game. We also show good approaches to the game. We all had a good feeling, that’s why it’s even more bitter today .”