Showing a reaction to the game in Mainz – that had been the firm objective of the Green-Whites for the match in the cathedral city. In their second Friday night game of the season, the Wolves did indeed demonstrate exactly that. However, not early and consistently enough to take anything tangible away from the away fixture at 1. FC Köln. After a disjointed first half, in which the Billy Goats took the lead through Linton Maina and threatened with further goals, VfL showed a completely different face after the restart. More bite, higher tempo and far better attacking ideas resulted, as the match went on, in an increasingly tight succession of green-and-white chances. Either, though, the Wolves made the wrong decisions at the decisive moments. Or they failed to beat the Cologne goalkeeper, just as Kamil Grabara had earlier been able to prevent several strikes from the FC attack. Right up until the final whistle, the Daniel Bauer side searched in vain for an equalising response and now, after all matches of Matchday 20 have been played, will welcome Borussia Dortmund to the Volkswagen Arena next Saturday as 14th in the table.
The facts from the game
Thanks to the 1-0 victory over VfL, 1. FC Köln won two consecutive home matches for the first time in this Bundesliga season and will have home advantage again on the next matchday against Leipzig.
Goalscorer Maina scored the most unlikely goal of the matchday across the league. The goal probability value stood at 3.5 per cent.
After his six-minute appearance in the match in Mainz, winter signing Kento Shiogai was given a full half in Cologne. His introduction after the restart brought a noticeable boost to VfL’s attacking play. In addition, the Japanese player picked up his first yellow card.
Speaking of yellow: Moritz Jenz endured a particularly frustrating evening. For the only goal of the game, the defensive Wolf initially deflected the ball past his own goalkeeper beyond saving. Later, he received his fifth booking and will therefore miss the Wolves’ home match against Dortmund.
In the vote for Player of the Match, VfL fans once again chose Kamil Grabara in first place. The Pole received 29 per cent of all votes, finishing ahead of Lovro Majer (24 per cent) in second place. Third place went to Kento Shiogai (14 per cent). Grabara is the only VfL professional to have featured in all 20 Bundesliga matches so far.
Head-to-head comparison
- Shots: 13 KOE – 10 VfL
- Possession: 44% KOE – 56% VfL
- Duels won: 115 KOE – 113 VfL
- Corners: 3 KOE – 4 VfL
