B04 against FC Köln: The best derby moments

The clashes with the neighbours from Cologne are definitely amongst the most emotional games of the season. There was huge anticipation ahead of the 32^nd meeting in the Bundesliga at Leverkusen. For that reason, we bring you a selection of the best derby goals on video and additional facts on the game of the season.

Positive overall record

FC Köln have been the visitors at Leverkusen 31 times in Germany’s top flight. The record is clearly in favour of the Black and Reds to date: Bayer 04 were the winners 15 times after 90 minutes and the team from Cologne were victorious five times. Eleven games ended in draws. And the goal difference of 57 to 34 is also a positive for the Werkself.

Bruckmann scores on first meeting

The two teams first played each other in the Bundesliga on 15 September 1979. The match at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium ended all square at 1-1. Klaus Bruckmann gave the Werkself, then coached by Willibert Kremer, the lead on 71 minutes, and Dieter Müller levelled for Hennes Weisweiler’s team on 82 minutes.

First derby win: Waas and Cha score

All of the following three home derby games also ended in draws. The Black and Reds celebrated the first derby victory in the Bundesliga four years later: The score after 90 minutes on 9 December 1983 was 2-1. Klaus Allofs gave FC Köln an early lead (4’), Herbert Waas (33’) and Bum-kun Cha (57’) turned the game round.

Lots of draws and the start of domination

It took several years for the next derby win to come along. The Werkself waited in vain for victory for eight home games against FC Köln (four draws, two defeats) before finally clocking up the next win on 10 November 1990: Marek Lesniak and Andreas Thom secured a 2-0 home win. The BayArena increasingly turned into a fortress in the 90s. The team from Cologne only won one of 15 games between 1990 and 2010 (1995/96, 0-2) and two games were drawn.

5-1 – Braces from Bellarabi and Drmic

The biggest win against the neighbours along the Rhine came on 29 November 2014. Matthias Lehmann put FC Köln 1-0 up from the penalty spot (4’) before the Werkself attack showed their quality. Karim Bellarabi levelled first (26’) and Hakan Calhanoglu scored direct from a free kick just after the hour mark (61’). Substitute Josip Drmic netted twice (79’, 88’) and Bellarabi doubled his tally in added time (90+1’) to round off a convincing a 5-1 home win.

Finally Red 2017

For no small number of Werkself fans this is the most emotional derby – and the clash did not even end up in a win for Leverkusen. Bayer 04 were in danger of going down in 2016/17. FC Köln were the visitors on matchday 33 and the team under coach Tayfun Korkut were looking for three points to ensure top-flight survival. The fans and club rallied under the banner of ‘Finally Red’. The supporters provided a guard of honour on Bismarckstraße, a vocal welcome for the team bus and massive backing for the Werkself. “I’ve never seen anything like that in Leverkusen. It was so thrilling,” said team liaison manager Hans-Peter Lehnhoff who was on the coach and at Bayer 04 since 1994. Driven forward by their fans, Stefan Kießling and Co. produced a passionate performance, refused to be downhearted despite going two goals down, and earned a 2-2 draw in the end with goals from Kießling (60’) and Joel Pohjanpalo (70’). Staying up was ensured to great relief under the Bayer Cross.