Bundesliga: Cologne hold nerve in Augsburg

Augsburg 2-3 Cologne, WWK Arena
(Gumny 54', Vargas 62' - Duda 8', 33', Kainz 23')

A game of two halves, or so the cliché goes. This Friday night treat under the lights was just that, a game which saw Cologne deliver a rare footballing masterclass in the first half, before collapsing after the interval. Fortunately for them, Augsburg weren't able to reach the heights in the second that Cologne had touched in the first.

"I can't see anything positive from the first 45 minutes, we left our balls in the dressing room," a furious Rafal Gikiewicz, the Augsburg keeper said. "For Cologne, it was like a training session in the first half.”

Cologne's Florian Kainz was slightly more measured in his post-game analysis, admitting that "it was a real nail-biter at the end.” He added: "Augsburg opened up everything and risked a lot."

Most games involving relegation-threatened teams are defensive, cagey and low scoring, but this one was open from the off. Augsburg were unbeaten in four home games going into this, having also beaten Borussia Dortmund and Borussia Mönchengladbach at home this season. Their best run of home form in six years came to a halt against the Cathedral city club, but they made Cologne sweat for it in the end.

First half masterclass

Cologne, mourning the recent death of club mascot Hennes VIII the goat, were operating on a higher plane than the hosts in the first 45 and that was largely down to Ondrej Duda, the architect of the victory. His opener was a breathtaking volley and that set the tone for what followed.

Markus Gisdol was unlucky to be fired given that key players had been out injured when he was finally cut loose, but Cologne are enjoying the ‘Funkel bounce'. After a tricky start against Leverkusen, a stunning victory over RB Leipzig and now this win has gone some to justify the decision to change coach. Funkel has achieved back-to-back wins for Cologne for the first time since March 2020.

Cologne, who had also never won away at Augsburg in the Bundesliga, played with supreme confidence and were rewarded with a deserved second goal which was one that Bayern Munich would have been proud of. A sweeping move from back to front was finished by Kainz after an intelligent dummy by Marius Wolf had created the space for the first-time shot.

Cologne played with confidence and conviction, and when Duda hammered in another fine goal the visitors seemed to be out of sight at 0-3. But things are rarely easy with Cologne and Heiko Herrlich's double change before the break changed the trajectory of the game. One of his substitutes, Robert Gummy, grabbed a goal early in the second half before Ruben Vargas added another for Augsburg. But despite the onslaught, Cologne hung on for over half an hour to secure an invaluable three points in the quest for survival.

The pressure is now on Hertha Berlin, who cannot play this weekend due to a COVID-19 outbreak but drop into the bottom two despite games in hand. Arminia Bielefeld, Mainz, Werder Bremen and even Augsburg aren't safe as the plot thickens at the bottom.