Bayer Leverkusen fell 2-1 at home to Cologne on Friday, ending a 14-match unbeaten run in all competitions and jeopardizing their place in European competition with three rounds of matches remaining in the Bundesliga.
Cologne’s Davy Zilke scored two goals in the first half, before and after Amin Adly’s equalizer, to give him his third consecutive away win, the team’s longest winning streak away from home in 31 years.
It was no picnic as Leverkusen had hoped for under coach Xabi Alonso ahead of next week’s Europa League semi-final first leg against AS Roma.
The team has 48 points in sixth place, which would be good enough to secure a place in the European League for next season, two points ahead of Wolfsburg, who will face Borussia Dortmund on Sunday.
Zilke stunned the hosts in the 14th minute, easily beating defender Jonathan Tah to give Cologne the lead from the first opportunity of the match.
Leverkusen equalized with a counterattack that was executed perfectly and ended with a fair goal.
The hosts were in complete control of the match when Colin scored another goal, as Zilke scored the net for the second time on Friday evening in the 36th minute, against the flow of play.
Bayern Munich, first with 62 points, faces Werder Bremen on Saturday.
In a second match held on Friday, Schalke 04 defeated its host Mainz 3-2, bringing the winner to 30 points in 14th place, while Mainz’s balance froze at 45 points in eighth place.
2023-05-05 22:45:44
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