1. FC Köln secured their place in the last 16 of the DFB-Pokal thanks to a superb team performance in a 5:0 win against 1. FC Union Berlin on Tuesday evening.
Said El Mala opened the scoring before the break, with Linton Maina and El Mala scoring twice in quick succession to put the game to bed. Ísak Jóhannesson grabbed a fourth following an excellent team goal, with Sebastian Sebulonsen sweeping home in the 88th minute to mark a memorable Pokal evening in Müngersdorf.
Team news
René Wagner opted for three alterations to the team that started against Schalke on Saturday. Sebastian Sebulonsen, Luka Lochoshvili and Ísak Jóhannesson dropped out for Alessio Castro-Montes, Joël Schmied and Paul Okon-Engstler.
Mauro Lurstrinelli made three changes from the 1:1 draw against FC Augsburg at the weekend. Frederik Rönnow, Felix Uduokhai and Livan Burcu were replaced by Matheo Raab, Leopold Querfeld and Mekhi Gray.
Ahead at the break
The game started off without major incident, with neither side really troubling the opposition goalkeeper in the first half of the first period. That changed in the 25th minute as Okon-Engstler and Said El Mala combined brilliantly to free Linton Maina. He went through against Raab, and saw his effort deflected onto the post by the Union stopper.
Union responded in kind, with Michel Aebischer wasting a glorious shooting opportunity on the edge of the area after FC failed to clear confidently. Moments later, a corner was met by Rani Khedira close to goal. He powered at goal, only for Marvin Schwäbe to claw away his headed effort.
The next blow was clinical. Said El Mala picked up the ball and layed off to Linton Maina. He continued to power forward and picked the perfect moment to tee up El Mala, who went through to conidently place the ball past the helpless Raab and give FC the lead.
The remainder of the first-half saw FC dominate. Raab cut out an El Mala cross just before it reached the feet of Marius Bülter, who looked destined to tap in at the back post. Just before the break, it was Raab to the rescue once more. Mikey Moore’s mazy run and pass picked out El Mala, though Raab bravely snuffed out the danger.
Four second-half goals seal the deal
The second 45 got off to the best possible start. After determined play from Maina and Bülter, the former managed to tee up El Mala on the right. He unselfishly picked out Maina in the middle, who only needed to slide home from close range to get a crucial, early second goal.
On the hour mark, things got even better. Marius Bülter managed to place the ball into the right-hand channel. Said El Mala sprang into action and burst onto the ball, driving into the box, cutting inside and producing a finish of real quality into the top corner.
Union tried to change the game with substitutes, though there was no way through a solid FC rearguard. In the 78th minute, Wagner’s side managed to net a fourth. Jan Thielmann flicked through Bülter with a beautiful touch, and the latter was able to tee up Ísak Jóhannesson for an easy finish and his third Pokal goal in two games.
The icing on the cake came in the 88th minute. Reigan Heskey managed to collect the ball out on the right, moving in from the touchline and into the box. He kept his composure and picked out the late run of Sebastian Sebulonsen, who swept home into the far bottom corner in style.
Sven Jablonski blew for full-time in the 90th minute and started the party on a wet Tuesday evening. There was no sign of any midweek blues from René Wagner’s side.
FC are next in action on Sunday against the same opposition, this time in the Bundesliga and in the capital. Kick-off at the Stadion an der Alten Försterei is at 15:30 CET.
Line-ups
1. FC Köln (4-2-2-2): Schwäbe – Castro-Montes (Sebulonsen 63‘), Schmied, Simpson-Pusey, Sosa (Mensah 81‘) – Okon-Engstler, Krauß – Maina (Jóhannesson 72‘), Moore (Thielmann 72‘) – Bülter, S. El Mala (Heskey 81‘).
1. FC Union Berlin (4-2-3-1): Raab – Haberer, van den Bosch, Querfeld, Rothe (Köhn 46‘) – Schäfer (Kemlein 69‘), Khedira – Jeong, Aebischer, Skarke (Burcu 58‘) – Gray (Latte Lath 58‘).
Goals: 1:0, S. El Mala 32‘. 2:0, Maina 51‘. 3:0, El Mala 60‘. 4:0, Jóhannesson 78‘. 5:0, Sebulonsen 88‘.
Referee: Sven Jablonski (Bremen).
Booked: Querfeld (48‘), Ljubicic (77‘), Sebulonsen (84‘), Burcu (90‘).
Attendance: 49,000.
