1. FC Köln secured victory on their return to the Bundesliga thanks to a dramatic last-gasp winner against 1. FSV Mainz 05. Marius Bülter headed home in the final minute of normal time before FC held out after 13 minutes of added time.
Team news
Bo Henriksen opted for just one alteration after their narrow defeat to Rosenborg on Thursday evening. Andreas Hanche-Olsen came into the defence for Stefan Bell.
Lukas Kwasniok made four changes to the side that secured a second-round berth against Jahn Regensburg last weekend. Marvin Schwäbe, Tom Krauß, Kristoffer Lund and Jan Thielmann replaced Ron-Robert Zieler, Cenk, Linton Maina and Luca Waldschmidt.
Level at the break
The game began with three chances in a row for the hosts. A long ball forward from the Mainz defence allowed Philipp Mwene in behind. Be it Paul Nebel, Anthony Caci or Kaishu Sano, the FC players threw their bodies in the way and managed to prevent anything meaningful from happening in the first attack of the match.
The first-half was lacking in meaningful, clear-cut chances, however. Sebastian Sebulonsen fired wide after good work from Jakub Kamiński, whilst Kamiński himself tested Robin Zentner just before the break with the only shot on target from both teams.
Bülter wins it late on
The second-half started with FC on the front foot. Jan Thielmann skewed wide from Marius Bülter’s cross before Kristoffer Lund sent a half-volley flying over from 25 yards. FC remained in control but the game took a huge turn in the 60th minute. A wonderful long ball from Sebulonsen was perfectly brought down by Jakub Kamiński, only for Paul Nebel to haul him to the ground as the last man.
FC went closer still as Cenk headed over from Kamiński’s excellent corner with Said El Mala going close soon after. The game went back and forward before FC finally grabbed a goal in the 90th minute. Luca Waldschmidt curled a superb cross into the area and Marius Bülter stuck his head out to flick it into the bottom corner and send the travelling FC fans and players wild.
FC managed to hold on through a lengthy 13 minutes of added time to secure a memorable win on their return to the top flight. FC are back in action on Sunday, 31st August against SC Freiburg. Kick-off at the RheinEnergieSTADION is at 19:30 CEST.
Line-ups
1. FSV Mainz 05 (3-4-2-1): Zentner – da Costa, Hanche-Olsen (Bell 65’), Kohr (Sieb 90+3’) – Caci (Widmer 65’), Amiri (Maloney 65’), Sano, Mwene – Nebel, Lee – Hollerbach (Weiper 15’).
1. FC Köln (3-4-2-1): Schwäbe – Krauß (Cenk 67’), Hübers, Schmied – Sebulonsen (Waldschmidt 74’), Jóhannesson (Kainz 80’), Martel, Lund (El Mala 67’) – Thielmann (Ache 67’), Kamiński – Bülter.
Goal: 0:1, Bülter 90’.
Referee: Tobias Stieler (Hamburg).
Booked: Lund (27’), Svensson (62’), Schmied (81’).
Sent-off: Nebel (60’).
Attendance: 33,305 (sold-out).