Cologne Thrash Freiburg 4-1 in Bundesliga return, Claim Second Win
COLOGNE, Germany (dpa) – 1. FC Köln marked their return to Bundesliga home action after 477 days with a dominant 4-1 victory over SC Freiburg on Saturday, delivering an impressive offensive display. Goals from Jakub Kaminski (35th minute), Marius Bülter (47th), Jan thielmann (57th), and substitute said El Mala (81st) secured the win for coach Lukas Kwasniok’s side. Maximilian Eggestein (84th) scored a late consolation goal for Freiburg.
The result gives Cologne their second win of the new season,marking the first time in 20 years they’ve secured victories in their first two Bundesliga matches. Freiburg, under coach Julian Schuster, remain pointless and have dropped to the bottom of the table, while Cologne climb to third place.
The match,played in front of a sold-out crowd of 50,000 at the Cologne stadium,saw a brief moment of distraction before kickoff as the stadium announcer revealed FC Bayern Munich as their opponent in the second round of the DFB-Pokal (German Cup). Cologne started with debutant Rav van den Berg and Denis Huseinbasic in the lineup, replacing Tom Krauss and Joel Schmied from their previous win in Mainz. Freiburg fielded the same starting eleven as their 3-1 loss against Augsburg.
Cologne, adopting a defensive chain of four, started strongly, with Kristoffer Lund shooting just over the bar in the 6th minute. Thielmann’s shot from the penalty area was saved by Freiburg goalkeeper Noah Atubolu (23rd), and huseinbasic was brought down by Kübler (27th).
Freiburg attempted to control possession,with Eggestein firing just wide from distance (18th).Though, Cologne’s attentive defense and clinical finishing proved decisive. Bülter’s corner found Lang, who crossed for Kaminski to score his first goal for the club.
The second half saw Cologne quickly extend their lead. Bülter headed in a precise cross from Thielmann from a tight angle (47th). Ten minutes later,the roles were reversed,with Bülter delivering a sharp cross from the left for Thielmann to finish (57th).
Kaminski nearly added a fourth in the 67th minute, but Atubolu made a brilliant save. Freiburg’s best chance fell to Lucas Höler,but Cologne goalkeeper Marvin Schwäbe made a strong save (70th).
Substitute El Mala sealed the victory, scoring from around 15 meters (81st). eggestein’s late goal provided a small consolation for Freiburg, but it was a day to forget for the visitors.
[Tweet from @fckoeln embedded here – as per original article]
