1. FC Köln said goodbye to the Bundesliga winter break with a win and, under Steffen Baumgart, had their best first half of the season in five years. At the end of the 17th matchday, FC prevailed against VfB Stuttgart 1-0 (0-0), Anthony Modeste decided the even game in the 88th minute with his eleventh goal of the season. “Today we had the chance to crown the first half of the season. We did it today,” said Cologne’s Kingsley Schindler, who hit the decisive flank on Modeste, at Dazn: “I’m happy that I was able to contribute something.”
The Cologne team, almost relegated from the previous season, have 25 points after 17th match days and have a reassuring gap of eight points on the relegation zone at Christmas. This begins with the VfB, the Swabians (17) occupy relegation rank 16.
Both teams relied on their tried-and-tested game from the start and tried to win the ball in the opposing half, so things went back and forth quickly. For Stuttgart Omar Marmoush finished in the second minute, for Cologne Anthony Modeste scored in the third – however, Florian Kainz had previously played the ball with his hand.
There were hardly any chances to score in the second half
The encounter could now be divided into phases: Sometimes the Stuttgart Pressing was better, sometimes the Cologne, but initially the host was more dangerous. In the 10th minute, the 15,000 fans cheered again, Louis Schaub scored brilliantly from an acute angle. This time the video assistant recognized an offside position. Towards the break, however, the very similar approaches on both sides ensured that hardly anything happened in the penalty areas, and both teams got caught again and again. A header from Modeste (41st) was the only chance to score until the whistle.
After the break, the picture hardly changed. Stuttgart initially seemed a bit more present, Baumgart strengthened his offensive with the inclusion of Mark Uth, as a result, FC were again overweight – but it stayed that way: there were hardly any scoring chances. VfB coach Pellegrino Matarazzo also wanted the win, joining Silas Katompa Mvumpa, among others. The Cologne team were closer to the goal, Modeste aimed twice (58./73.) Too imprecisely. Shortly before the end he made it even better – for the eighth time this season by head.