1. FC Köln and Borussia Mönchengladbach played out an emotional 3:3 draw on Saturday afternoon at the RheinEnergieSTADION. After Jens Castrop gave Gladbach the lead, before Said El Mala and Ragnar Ache turned the game on it’s head.
Philipp Sander levelled before the break, and then Castrop scored his second to put Gladbach in front. Eric Martel levelled late on before being sent off in a dramatic 100th Bundesliga Rheinderby.
Team news
Lukas Kwasniok made just one change to the side that started against HSV last weekend, with Linton Maina replacing Youssoupha Niang. Shortly before kick-off, however, a second change was required. Tom Krauß was unable to complete the warm-up with Cenny Neumann his replacement.
Eugen Polanski opted for two alterations following the home win over FC St. Pauli last time out. Rocco Reitz and Franck Honorat came into the team in place of Wael Mohya and Hugo Bolin.
Wild start, level at the break
The game got off to the worst possible start. Gladbach countered quickly and a long ball from Franck Honorat saw Jens Castrop burst forward into the box. He managed to push the ball past Marvin Schwäbe and give the visitors the lead after just 30 seconds.
However, FC responded in kind. A stunning ball from Ísak Jóhannesson caught the Gladbach defence napping, with Said El Mala collecting the ball and thundering a deflected effort past the helpless Moritz Nicolas.
Just three minutes later, FC edged ahead. Kristoffer Lund played a wonderful pass into the path of Jakub Kamiński, who played a superb, low cross towards Ragnar Ache. He made no mistake from close range, forcing home his sixth goal of the season.
Despite Kwasniok’s side being in control, Gladbach managed to levelt he scores once more. Castrop managed to dig out a cross that went all the way to the back post. Philipp Sander’s initial shot was blocked by Eric Martel, though the rebound fell straight back to Sander to fire home from close range.
Both sides pushed for the lead, with Jóhannesson screaming wide with a swerving strike from 30 yards. At the other end, it was a flick-on from Kevin Diks that almost found Yannick Engelhardt for a tap-in at the back post. After three minutes of added time, Sören Storks brought a breathless first-half to a close.
Late leveller
The second-half started slowly in comparison to the second, with no real chances early on. It was a bolt out of the blue that sprung the game into life, as Jens Castrop struck a 25-yard swerving effort into the top corner past Marvin Schwäbe.
FC pressed for a leveller and got one in the 84th minute. Florian Kainz’s corner was met by Eric Martel, who rose home to power home the important equaliser. The midfielder was sent off moments after for a second-booking, as FC became increasingly frustrated. However, there would be no late goal for either side.
FC head into the international break with 26 points and are next in action against Eintracht Frankfurt. Kick-off at the Deutsche Bank Park is at 17:30 CEST on Sunday, 5th April.
Line-ups
1. FC Köln (4-2-3-1): Schwäbe – Neumann (Thielmann 70‘), van den Berg, Cenk, Lund – Jóhannesson (Chávez 70‘), Martel – Maina (Waldschmidt 77‘), Kamiński, El Mala (Kainz 77‘) – Ache (Bülter 77‘).
Borussia Mönchengladbach (3-4-2-1): Nicolas – Sander, Elvedi, Diks – Scally (Friedrich 88‘), Reitz, Engelhardt, Castrop (Ullrich 85‘) – Honorat (Machino 88‘), Stöger (Bolin 85‘) – Tabakovic.
Goals: 0:1, Castrop 1‘. 1:1, El Mala 4‘. 2:1, Ache 7‘. 2:2, Sander 20‘. 2:3, Castrop 60‘. 3:3, Martel 84‘.
Referee: Sören Storks (Velen).
Booked: Jóhannesson (38‘), Schwäbe (52‘), Kamiński (61‘), Cenk (71‘), Tabakovic (71‘), Thielmann (76‘), Reitz (90‘), Kainz (90+1‘).
Sent-off: Martel (87‘).
Attendance: 50,000 (sold-out).