Thanks to a patient and ripped-off performance, Bayer Leverkusen won the Rhenish duel against 1. FC Köln, who had to operate outnumbered for a long time. This means that Leverkusen is clearly on course to mastery after Bayern Munich’s mistake.
Bayer Leverkusen won 2-0 (1-0) in Cologne on Sunday (March 3rd, 2024) and remained unbeaten in the 24th Bundesliga game this season. Jeremie Frimpong (37th) and Alejandro Grimaldo (73rd) scored the goals.
To the live ticker: Cologne – Leverkusen arrow right 24th matchday arrow right
Bayern Munich only played 2-2 in Freiburg on Friday evening. Leverkusen (64 points) is now ten points ahead of Bayern at the top of the table. FC’s situation is completely different: Cologne remains at 17 points and is still in danger of relegation as third from bottom.
Thielmann sees red for kicking Xhaka’s Achilles tendon
Bayer Leverkusen dominated the action in Cologne and had over 80 percent of the ball possession in the first ten minutes. This was because the “Werkself” put Cologne under pressure with aggressive pressing and won a lot of the ball; FC hardly got out from behind. As a logical consequence, Leverkusen’s Jonas Hofmann had the first chance, he narrowly missed (3′).
Cologne then also entered the game with a header opportunity for Dejan Ljubicic (10th). But bitter minutes followed for FC. First, Jan Thielmann stepped on Granit Xhaka’s Achilles tendon while following up. Xhaka was beside himself and after VAR consultation, referee Tobias Stieler actually showed the Cologne player a red card (14th) – a justifiable decision.
Just a little later, Dejan Ljubicic also reached out and saw his fifth yellow card (16th). Like Thielmann, he will miss the derby against Borussia Mönchengladbach next weekend.
FC defended tough, Leverkusen’s patience was rewarded
So Cologne were outnumbered for over 75 minutes, which was bad news against the strong Leverkusen team. The FC decided to continue to physically resist. This worked quite well in the defense center, Julian Chabot (73 percent) and Timo Hübers (67 percent) won many duels in the first half.
However, Cologne occasionally defended over the border, Eric Martel violently cleared Leverkusen’s offensive engine Florian Wirtz and was shown yellow for it (29′). The following free kick from Grimaldo went just over (31′).
Shortly afterwards, Leverkusen’s patience paid off. Grimaldo’s cross found Patrik Schick at five, but the ball slipped through and Frimpong tunneled through FC goalkeeper Marvin Schwäbe to take the lead. Wirtz almost increased before the break after a great combination, but was denied by the Cologne goalkeeper (41′).
Despite being outnumbered, Cologne sets a pinprick
However, despite being outnumbered, FC also had something to offer in this game. Shortly before Bayer’s opening goal, Sargis Adamyan missed a counterattack opportunity (35′), and Faride Alidou (45’+4) almost celebrated a header goal.
Leverkusen were warned, but left Adamyan alone again after the restart – he hit the post with a spectacular side kick from a cross from Rasmus Carstensen (51′).
Grimaldo pulls the plug on committed FC
The hosts fought hard and defended themselves to the best of their ability. They moved forward primarily via crosses from the wings. But the brave FC, who allowed virtually nothing until the 70-minute mark, were thwarted by two scenes in the final phase.
First, joker Justin Diehl grabbed his thigh and then had to leave the field injured after less than three minutes (69′); the 19-year-old had come on for Adamyan. And then Leverkusen took advantage of their first good chance in the second half to make it 2-0. Grimaldo scored after Amine Adli’s assist. That pulled the plug on Cologne, Leverkusen confidently managed the two-goal lead until the final whistle.
European intermezzo for B04, next derby for Cologne
The championship favorites from Leverkusen now face the first leg of the round of 16 in the Europa League against Qarabag Agdam (Azerbaijan) on Thursday (6.45 p.m.).
The Bundesliga then continues on Sunday (7.30 p.m.) with a home game against VfL Wolfsburg. The day before, 1. FC Cologne is challenged in the next derby at Borussia Mönchengladbach (Saturday, 3:30 p.m.).
