1. FC Köln twice made up for a deficit at RB Leipzig and ended up taking a point. Leipzig is still without a win.
With the 2:2 (1:1) in the table, the Cologne team moved up into the top group for the time being and after two games they have four points in the account. With the second draw in the second game, Leipzig remains in the middle of the table.
Timo Werner (36′) and Christopher Nkunku (56′) scored for Leipzig, Cologne’s goals were scored by Florian Dietz (40′) and Leipzig’s Josko Gvardiol with an own goal (72′).
Werner meets Schwäbe’s mistake, Dietz equalizes for Cologne
In the early stages, the ball went into Cologne’s net twice, but both goals didn’t count. After Dani Olmo’s shot into the right corner, referee Benjamin Brand penalized a handball by David Raum, who had provided the template (9′). Nkunku, who was honored before the game as the winner of the “Kicker” election for Germany’s footballer of the year, was offside before his supposed goal (15th).
Cologne played offensively and had a few scoring chances: Jan Thielmann tested Leipzig goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi (4′), Dietz narrowly missed a cross from the left with his head (12′) and a little later failed with a turning shot (17′). Dejan Ljubicic aimed in a promising position from 13 meters over the goal (26th). In this Cologne urge phase, Leipzig scored the lead. Cologne goalkeeper Marvin Schwäbe slipped up and let an unplaced shot from Leipzig’s returnee Werner slip under his body from 18 meters (36′).
A little later, however, Schwäbe saved the 0:2 and thus practically initiated the equalizer: In return, Florian Dietz scrambled the ball into the goal after a cross from Florian Kainz (40th). Leipzig were decimated in injury time: Dominik Szoboszlai saw the red card after an elbow hit against Kainz (45+1).
Leipzig outnumbered in the lead, but Cologne responds
After the break, Leipzig made it 2-1 with ten men. Olmo freed Nkunku on the left, who scored with aplomb against goalkeeper Schwäbe (56′).
RB Leipzig’s Christopher Nkunku (right) cheers with Mohamed Simakan.
However, Cologne picked up again in the final phase. First Dietz (70′) and Linton Maina (71′) missed their chances, then Leipzig equalized for Cologne: Kainz brought a corner from the left into the penalty area, Leipzig’s Mohamed Simakan extended the cross, Gvardiol’s thigh into his own Goal jumped (72nd).
Mintzlaff wants to present new sports director for Leipzig “soon”.
The club from Leipzig announced that it would soon present a successor to sports director Markus Krösche. Krösche moved to Eintracht Frankfurt in 2021, since then Leipzig has been looking for a successor. Leipzig’s managing director Oliver Mintzlaff did not rule out a commitment from Max Eberl, the former sports director of Borussia Mönchengladbach, on the Sky TV station. “We’re not ruling out anything today. We’ll present the solution promptly, I can say that in this case.”
Eberl resigned his position as Gladbach sports director for health reasons in January. However, his contract with Borussia has not been terminated and is on hold. Since then, the 48-year-old has withdrawn from the public eye.
Cologne now in Europe, Leipzig with Union
FC now plays at home in the first leg of the play-offs against FC Fehervar from Hungary on Thursday (18.08.2022, 8.30 p.m.) in the Europa Conference League. Should FC prevail after the second leg (08/25/2022), they would be in the group phase. This will be drawn the day after the second leg.
Leipzig continues in the Bundesliga on Saturday (20/08/2022, 6:30 p.m.) on matchday 3 at Union Berlin. Cologne play Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday (21.08.22, 3.30 p.m.).