Matchday 16: Memorable game in Cologne: FC overrun Werder 7-1

At temperatures around freezing, Steffen Baumgart trudged in a T-shirt onto the pitch of the seething Cologne football stadium as if nothing had happened. Everything as usual? Not at all! In a memorable and historic Bundesliga game with eight goals, 1. FC Köln celebrated a picture-perfect start to 2023 and gave promoted Werder Bremen a severe setback.

Thanks in particular to an outstanding performance in the first half, the Cologne team, who stumbled into the winter break, overran the Hanseatic League 7:1 (5:1).

Bremen’s Fritz: “Were inferior in all respects”

Baumgart talked energetically to his players before they were allowed to join the fans to celebrate the highest FC victory in the league for almost exactly 40 years. Next week it’s off to Bayern. The Bremen professionals trotted into the dressing room with empty eyes – and somehow just seemed happy that it was over. Werder last lost that high 36 years ago.

“We don’t need to talk nice, we were inferior in every respect,” said Werder’s sports director Clemens Fritz after the game on Sky. “Aggressiveness, intensity, everything was missing.” That such a game was offered by the club was “cheeky”. If you act like that, “you don’t win a game,” added the ex-professional. “We missed everything that could be missed,” said Marco Friedl.

Linton Maina (9th) and Steffen Tigges (15th/21st) ensured an early lead after three Bremen dropouts. Ellyes Skhiri (30th) and Denis Huseinbašić (36th) scored in Cologne’s 1712th Bundesliga game to make it 5-0 in the club’s history. Only for the second time did FC score five goals before the break, Werder had never conceded so many goals in a first half in 58 Bundesliga seasons.

Tigges scored his second goal from 46.7 meters. Skhiri (54th) increased after the break with a remarkable scissors shot. Bremen’s Marco Friedl (76th) scored an own goal, the Werder goal by national player Niclas Füllkrug (38th) was far too little. Bremen’s unlucky person was Füllkrug’s strike partner Marvin Ducksch, who initiated the first two goals in Cologne and thus the debacle.

Cologne coach Steffen Baumgart had kept his word: after the FC coach had revealed his entire starting XI in an unusually open manner, he allowed his team to play in exactly the announced formation in the first game of the year. Ex-Bremer Davie Selke, who was brought in from Hertha BSC in the winter, initially sat on the bench. When he came after 58 minutes, it was already 6:1.

Cologne furious and intoxicated – Bremen desolate

But even without him, FC quickly launched an offensive firework display. The early lead resulted from a completely unsuccessful free-kick variant by Bremer Ducksch and Anthony Jung, before 17 seconds later Maina completed the counterattack that had already been played twice. For the 23-year-old, who came from Hanover in the summer, it was the second goal in his 24th competitive game for Cologne, the first at home.

And Cologne quickly followed suit: Ex-Bremer Florian Kainz, who had extended his contract during the week until 2025, conquered the ball after Duksch’s bad pass, and Tigges completed the ball from ten meters with his left. Six minutes later, the striker scored from a greater distance than any other Bundesliga player this season – and again he benefited from a complete absence from Bremen. Mitchell Weiser, who grew up in Cologne youth, put his goalkeeper Jiri Pavlenka in trouble with a back pass, the Czech saved the ball, but played it in the middle of Tigges’ foot. The 24-year-old took the ball over the halfway line and shot it into the empty goal.

The Cologne team continued to act like they were in a rush: After Maina slipped, the ball flew through the entire penalty area and Skhiri pushed in from behind. Huseinbašić scored after Tigges had put it down before Werder showed a minimal sign of rebellion with a header from Füllkrug. The Bremen fans sang ironically: “Away win, away win!” Instead, the party in Cologne and the nightmare in Bremen continued right after the break – to top it all off with the own goal.