1. FC Köln and FC Schalke 04 cancelled each other out on Saturday afternoon at the RheinEnergieSTADION. Despite FC having a goal disallowed and the better of the chances, neither side were able to break the deadlock in a closely-contested affair.
Team news
René Wagner made one change to the team that started the 1:0 defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt last weekend. Mikey Moore returned to the starting line-up in place of Joël Schmied.
Miron Muslic opted for three alterations after Schalke’s narrow 1:0 loss to Mainz on the previous weekend. Adrian Gantenbein, Kenan Karaman and Edin Dzeko were replaced by Eric Junior Dina Ebimbe, Hwang Hee-Chan and Junior Adamu.
Level at the break
After a slow start where both teams struggled to create meaningful moments in front of goal, it was Tom Krauß and Hasan Kurucay who caused the most problems for their respective defences. Krauß cleared into the feet of Soufiane El-Faouzi, which flew narrowly past the post. Moments later, Kurucay almost volleyed into his own net with Loris Karius stranded.
From there, FC started to get a real foothold in the game and also had the ball in the back of the net. Said El Mala cut inside before stinging the palms of Loris Karius. Marius Bülter managed to poke through to Ísak Jóhannesson, though the Icelandic international was offside as he fired home. Moments later, it was El Mala who volleyed wide after Jóhannesson’s initial effort was saved.
Late on in the first-half came a moment of real concern for all in RheinEnergieSTADION. A long ball forward saw El-Faouzi and Robin Gosens clash heads. The medical staff from both teams rushed onto the pitch and treated the pair, who were forced off. El-Faouzi was covered in blood, whilst Gosens had to supported as he left the field of play.
No goals in the second-half
The second-half produced few moments of note or excitement as both teams cancelled each other out. Junior Dina Ebimbe was denied by a flying Jahmai Simpson-Pusey block and Satoshi Tanaka saw his effort come back off the outside of the post.
FC did have the best chance, however. A long ball forward saw Marius Bülter’s cutback saved by Karius, with Luca Waldschmidt’s follow-up blocked by the Schalke back-line.
There isn’t much time to dwell on the draw as FC are back in action on Tuesday evening. René Wagner’s side face 1. FC Union Berlin in the RheinEnergieSTADION at 20:45 CET in the DFB-Pokal second round.
Line-ups
1. FC Köln (4-2-2-2): Schwäbe – Sebulonsen, Simpson-Pusey, Lochoshvili, Sosa – Krauß (Okon-Engstler 80‘), Jóhannesson – Maina, Moore (Waldschmidt 68‘) – Bülter, S. El Mala (Heskey 80‘).
FC Schalke 04 (3-4-2-1): Karius – T. Becker, Katic, Kurucay – Dina Ebimbe, El-Faouzi (Bachmann 43‘), Tanaka, Gosens (V. Becker 43‘) – Adamu, Aouchiche – Hwang.
Goals: None.
Referee: Harm Osmers (Hannover).
Booked: Krauß (45+2‘), El Mala (71‘), Dina Ebimbe (71‘), Lochoshvili (81‘), V. Becker (83‘).
Attendance: 50,000 (sold-out).
