1-2: Immobilie on target, but Cologne punish sloppy BVB

Kevin Vogt put Cologne into a surprise first-half lead (40 mins) in front of a capacity 50,000 crowd at Rhein-Energie-Stadion, capitalising on mistakes in the BVB defence before Ciro Immobile restored parity with a deserved equaliser shortly after the interval. BVB, who had Ilkay Gündogan back in their line-up after 430 days on the sidelines, were the better team and looked to score a second but were punished again for sloppy defending as Simon Zoller netted the winner for the hosts in the 74th minute.

The Scenario:

After a mediocre start to the season with seven points from seven games, BVB went into the game looking to claw their way up the table. From a statistical standpoint the game in Cologne seemed perfectly suited to start a winning run: Borussia had been unbeaten against FC in eleven matches, winning the previous eight while scoring a whopping 11 goals in the previous two. To remind his players of the gravity of the situation, BVB coach Jürgen Klopp gave his players a 40-minute pep talk, saying: “We have to get results.”

Personnel Matters:

BVB’s injury situation had eased off a bit after the international break as Mkhitaryan, Reus and also Gündogan all returned to the starting eleven, with the latter one recovering from a 14-month spell on the sidelines - Gündogan’s last game in the Bundesliga had been on 10 August 2013. Jürgen Klopp said, “It is the right time for his return.” Schmelzer was back in the squad after breaking his hand against HSV but started on the bench, as did Ramos, Bender, Subotic, Ginter, Langerak and Aubameyang who had only joined up with the team on Saturday afternoon following his late return from international duty. Due to “minor groin problems” (Jürgen Klopp), Reus was not part of the original starting line-up but was called up to replace Eric Durm who was injured during the warm-up. Blaszczykowski (thigh), Kirch (match fitness) and Sahin (knee) were all unavailable for BVB.

Cologne coach Peter Stöger had the luxury of an almost full squad to choose from, with only Helmes missing, while Dusan Svento made a surprise appearance for the home side, three months after breaking his foot. It was his first debut game for FC.

Tactics:

Both sides opted for a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Grosskreutz dropping back from midfield to left back after Durm’s unavailability. After Aubameyang’s introduction in the 68th minute, Kagawa moved to the wings while the Gabon international took his place in the centre of midfield.

The Game & Analysis:

BVB began the match in typical fashion, with the focus on pressing and winning the ball back whilst making quick transitions from defence to attack. In the opening 15 minutes, the Black and Yellows enjoyed 75 percent possession (68 percent at half-time) but were unable to make their dominance into goals due to some solid defending by the hosts.  Jürgen Klopp’s much-changed side began in a confident mood but lacked their usual attacking flair, failing to create any threat on the Cologne goal, with the home side almost entirely concentrating on defence.

The Black and Yellows only managed two chances in the first half. The first one came in the second minute when Immobile, after good work from Reus, found himself clear on goal but shot wide, the second ten minutes later when Reus fired just wide from a tight angle after being set up by Kagawa.

The game then settled into a dull rhythm, with Cologne defending and closing down the spaces well, seemingly content with the result before they scored out of the blue. After a goal-kick from Weidenfeller, both Kagawa and Gündogan lost headers, Hummels was a fraction too late to clear and Vogt was left completely unmarked in front of goal. The 23-year-old made no mistake and coolly slotted home with only Cologne’s second shot on goal.

Borussia started the second half with much more urgency, looked much more confident on their passing and began to create openings. They actually managed to score from their first serious attack in the second half when Kagawa forced a mistake from Vogts in midfield before Reus worked the ball forward to Immobilie to slot home the equaliser. The goal seemed to rouse BVB from their slumber as Reus had another good chance four minutes later but was denied by a last-ditch tackle from Wimmer.

BVB now put the Cologne goal under siege, working the ball around the box and waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. Midway through the second half, the home side found themselves completely outplayed by a Borussia side that, in spite of having 14 shots on goal to Cologne’s four at the time, could only blame themselves for not taking their chances, with Sokratis missing one of them after a Reus corner (72 mins).

Ultimately, they were made to pay the price for their poor finishing when after a cross from Osako into the centre of the box Simon Zoller capitalised on a mix-up between Sokratis and Weidenfeller to slot home into an empty net to make it 2-1 (74 mins) with what was only Cologne’s fifth shot on target of the afternoon. After already bringing on Aubameyang for Mkhitaryan (68 mins.), Jürgen Klopp responded quickly and threw on Ramos for Immobile. Dortmund went all out for an equaliser but the hosts held firm to secure the win.

Teams & Goals

Bundesliga, Matchday 8
COLOGNE – BORUSSIA DORTMUND 2-1 (1-0)

Cologne: Horn - Olkowski, Mavraj, Wimmer, Hector - Vogt, Lehmann, Svento - Risse, Halfar - Zoller
Borussia Dortmund: Weidenfeller – Piszczek, Sokratis, Hummels, Großkreutz – Gündogan, Kehl – Mkhitaryan, Kagawa, Reus – Immobile
Substitutions: 68. Aubameyang for Mkhitaryan, 75. Ramos for Immobile, 90. Subotic for Gündogan - 57. Peszko for Svento, 64. Osako for Halfar, 76. Matuschyk for Zoller
Goals: 1-0 Vogt (40., Risse), 1-1 Immobile (48., Reus), 2-1 Zoller (74., Osako)
Corners: 3-6 (HT 1-2), Chances: 5-5 (3-2)
Refereer: Fritz (Korb), Yellow cards:   - Mkhitaryan, Hummels, Sokratis
Attendance: 50,000 (sold-out), Weather: sunny, 20 degrees

Prospects:

The game in Cologne marked the start of a seven-game spell in the space of 23 days. On Wednesday (kick-off 2045 CET), BVB travel to Galatasaray in the Champions League before taking on Hannover 96 at Signal Iduna Park next Saturday (1530 CET).