Two Cologne dream goals in a Rhine derby overshadowed by riots by Gladbach fans ruined Alexander Blessin's coaching debut at Borussia Mönchengladbach. Goals from Isak Johannesson (26th minute) and fan favorite Saïd El Mala (67th) for 1. FC Köln brought relief to coach René Wagner in a 2-1 (1-1) draw on matchday 5 of the Bundesliga. The 38-year-old had previously come under criticism, but is now more securely back in the saddle with seven points from five games.
Borussia, on the other hand, remains bottom of the table with no points even under Blessin. Gladbach last started a Bundesliga season eleven years ago with five defeats. At that time, the team from the Lower Rhine reached fourth place. This seems unthinkable in the current constitution and constellation. Joe Scally's goal (39th) wasn't enough for Borussia, who were once again barely ready for the Bundesliga.
Some Gladbach fans presented themselves even worse, rioting in the visitors' block after El Mala's goal and sometimes shooting flares into the Cologne spectator stands. The game was then interrupted for a few minutes.
Despite the win, the loss of Ellyes Skhiri shortly before half-time was bitter for FC. After loan striker Thijs Dallinga tore his cruciate ligament, there is a risk of another long absence. Skhiri was taken to hospital after an unfortunate challenge with Gladbach's Florian Neuhaus.
The pressure on both teams was noticeable from the start. Football was more worked on than played and there were a number of technical and defensive deficiencies on both sides. The uncertainty was great. Borussia and Cologne had almost unbelievable spaces that were rarely played at Bundesliga level.
On his debut, Blessin tried again with a three-man defense chain, which had been abolished at the start of the season under Eugen Polanski, who was on leave after three match days. Ko Itakura's Japanese compatriot Daiki Hashioka came into the starting line-up to replace Ko Itakura, who was absent at short notice. In addition, captain Tim Kleindienst was missing again.
Coach René Wagner, who was unpopular with FC fans, had announced an offensive game before the game. “We want to play aggressively from minute one,” he said on DAZN. There was nothing to be seen. In fact, Borussia was the more active team, although without creating any significant chances. The Cologne team, who were missing both center forwards Ragnar Ache and Dallinga due to injuries, reacted more quickly in their own stadium, but took the lead with a dream goal.
When Johannesson's beautiful shot into the corner, Gladbach keeper Moritz Nicolas had no chance. Meanwhile, with his first goal of the season, the former Düsseldorf player benefited from the disastrous defensive behavior of Gladbach, who conceded their 17th goal in the fifth game of the season. After a free kick, Kleindienst substitute Isac Lidberg headed the ball in the middle at Johannesson's feet instead of to the side.
The equalizer also came after a serious defensive mistake. Cologne's Jahmai Simpson-Pusey unfortunately extended an actually rather harmless cross from Lukas Ullrich and Skhiri was far too far away from Scally, who was able to head in without any problems. The American's provocative cheers in front of the Cologne fan curve caused a stir. A few minutes later, Skhiri had to be taken off the field on a stretcher.
The second half started much faster than the first, but remained just as poor in terms of play. Goal scenes only resulted by chance or through major mistakes like Gladbach's Hashioka, who played the ball into the path of Cologne's dribbling king Said El Mala. The national player failed due to Jan Leszczynski's outstanding reaction. The 19-year-old Polish central defender had already cleared the line against Simpson-Pusey in dire need shortly before.
The FC were now clearly setting the tone and got their deserved reward thanks to a great long-range shot from El Mala. Almost nothing came forward from Borussia in the second half.
