Berlin – 1. FC Köln defended their home series with a thrilling race to catch up in the Rheinderby on Sunday and Bayer Leverkusen blocked their return to third place. The Cologne team, who were still undefeated in front of their own audience, showed themselves to be well recovered from the 0: 5 defeat in Hoffenheim in the 2: 2 (0: 2) against the Europa League participants in the second half and came after a 0: 2 deficit to a draw against the neighbor. The Leverkusen team remained without a win in the third competitive game in a row. In front of 49,600 spectators in the Rhein-Energie-Stadion, Anthony Modeste saved the draw for the hosts on Sunday with two goals in the second half (63rd and 82nd minutes). Patrik Schick (15th) and Karim Bellarabi (17th) previously met Bayer.
Bayer coach Gerardo Seoane reacted to the intense stress three days after the Sevilla trip in the Europa League with two fresh forces on the offensive. In addition to Schick, who was replaced shortly before the end, the ex-Cologne Florian Wirtz also joined the team. The 18-year-old, whose move to the other side of the Rhine there was a lot of discussion, was mercilessly whistled by the Cologne audience every time the ball was touched.
Nevertheless, the offensive midfielder was once again an invigorating element in the team and was involved in many attacks by the agile Leverkusen team. The team’s travel strains were hardly noticeable and so the quick 2-0 lead within 100 seconds through a goal from Schick after a fine pass from Moussa Diaby and shortly afterwards from Bellarabi, who converted a rebound, was almost logical. For Schick it was already the eighth goal of the season, the Leverkusen-based team scored a total of eleven goals in the first 20 minutes of this season – a league record.
Thus, the plan of FC coach Baumgart, who had installed a more compact defense with double six and birthday child Luca Kilian to react to the speed of the Bayer attack series, was quickly thrown overboard. FC stabilizer Ellyes Skhiri was still unavailable due to injury and the team is noticeably absent. Cologne were also lucky when right-back Jeremie Frimpong hit the crossbar on a counterattack in the 25th minute.
The hosts themselves had few scoring opportunities. Captain Jonas Hector, who returned to the team, had two: one shot from a distance and one with his head (33rd / 44th). Modeste had a difficult attack against the strong Leverkusen central defense, but was there for the first time after an hour and marked the connection goal after Hector’s cross. The Cologne team continued to push for the equalizer and Modeste was there again and ensured the much-acclaimed point win.