2: 3 in Cologne: Dortmund loses control again

AIronically, former Dortmund player Steffen Tigges missed Borussia Dortmund a blow to the neck a week before the league hit against FC Bayern Munich. The striker, who only made 15 joker appearances for BVB between 2019 and 2022, headed the decisive goal for the Cologne team in BVB’s 2: 3 (1: 0) defeat at 1. FC Köln (56th). The Westphalians slipped in the Bundesliga before the duel with the champions next Saturday due to the significantly worse goal difference directly behind the Munich team.

In the event of a win against Cologne, BVB would have taken the lead in the table, with striker Anthony Modeste again disappointing when he returned to his old place of work. And with a goal from Julian Brandt (31st), Borussia also went into the break with a lead. But Florian Kainz (53rd) and Tigges with his first Bundesliga goal for FC turned the game around in just under three minutes. Dejan Ljubicic increased (71′) before an own goal by Benno Schmitz brought BVB back up (78′). With 13 points, Cologne are only two points behind Dortmund.

Modeste went to the Cologne bank before kick-off and high-fived everyone. The reception there was warm, with trainer Steffen Baumgart there was a warm hug. The fans not only greeted the renegades with a loud whistle when the line-up was read out, but also every time they touched the ball. However, there were very few of them.

Bellingham as BVB captain

There were hardly any posters against the French, only the one with the inscription “People think – greed directs” was probably directed against him. There were no expressions of dissatisfaction with the second midfielder Salih Özcan who switched from Cologne to Dortmund in the summer.

The game was intense from the start because, as Baumgart announced, the Cologne team were by no means hiding and always looking for the quickest way forward. But there weren’t any real chances to score for a long time. The ball usually didn’t even get to the former Cologne Modeste in Dortmund’s attack and the former Dortmund Tigges as Cologne’s striker.

But when it started, there were suddenly chances almost every minute. The guests had the first really good opportunity when Karim Adeyemi quickly served Donyell Malen, who missed (26′). On the other side, Florian Kainz narrowly missed after a ball bounced off (29′). Shortly after that it happened.

The 19-year-old Jew Bellingham – in the absence of Reus and Hummels at 19 captain for the first time and incredibly present – stuck through to Brandt and he didn’t give Marvin Schwäbe a chance. A volley from Adeyemi and a shot from Malen prevented the Cologne keeper from making it 2-0 (33’/40′).

After the break, Cologne came out of the dressing room highly motivated and were quickly rewarded when Kainz equalized after a cross from Linton Maina and shortly afterwards Tigges headed in a corner from Kainz in front of Nico Schlotterbeck. Now BVB woke up from its deep sleep, Modeste also had a first chance (60th). Dortmund pressed now, but Cologne countered strongly. First Florian Dietz hit the inside post, seconds later Ljubicic hit. A cross from Tom Rothe deflected by Schmitz made for an exciting final phase.