Head coach Gerardo Seoane made three changes to the starting eleven from the 1-1 draw at Real Betis: Odilon Kossounou, Florian Wirtz and Patrik Schick started in place of Edmond Tapsoba, Amine Adli and Lucas Alario (all on the bench).
Bayer 04 made a good start to the match and impressed from the kick-off with dynamic and accurate transition play. Schick (5') and Wirtz (7') had the first promising chances for the Black and Reds but lacked accuracy in their finishing. The first goal came after a quarter of an hour: Robert Andrich reacted quickly and put Moussa Diaby through. The Frenchman dribbled for a few metres and then set up Schick who slotted the ball past the FC Köln keeper Timo Horn in the bottom right corner of the net to make it 1-0 (15').
That was the start of two crazy minutes as the Werkself extended their lead almost immediately: Andrich broke into the box after being fed the ball by Wirtz but he stumbled. As he fell, the 27-year-old, with the help of FC Köln defender Rafael Czichos, squared the ball to Karim Bellarabi who smashed the ball into the back of the net – the second goal within 120 seconds (17’). Jeremie Frimpong was within a hair's breadth of rocking the away stand with 2,800 Bayer 04 fans but his effort hit the bar (25').
There was a blow for Bayer 04 on 36 minutes when Bellarabi had to be substituted for an injury suffered in a tackle. He was replaced by Adli. The Frenchman initially had to focus on defending with his teammates as the hosts pressed in the closing stages of the first half looking to get back into the game. However, Jonathan Tah and his partner Kossounou stopped the attacks. Bayer 04 went into half-time with a 2-0 lead.
In the second half, the Seoane team again and again looked for their chance to play on the break. That did happen but there was too often a lack of accuracy that meant Schick and Co. could not increase the lead. At the other end, the team under coach Steffen Baumgart clinically exploited a slight Leverkusen slip: Jonas Hector crossed from the edge of the box to the far post for Anthony Modeste. The Frenchman controlled the ball and left Bayer 04 keeper Lukas Hradecky helpless – Köln had pulled a goal back (63').
As the hosts were then more focused on attack, the Werkself had several chances on the break. However these went unrewarded. FC Köln increased the pressure but the Leverkusen defence first held firm. However, on 83 minutes, the skipper Hradecky was beaten again for the second time on the afternoon: A throw-in was flicked on by Sebastian Anderson at the near post to Modeste who headed the ball across Hradecky and into the net to make it 2-2.
That was also the conclusion to an eventful derby. Following the draw in Cologne, Bayer 04 are now fourth in the Bundesliga but could be overtaken this evening by Union Berlin. The Werkself have little time to recover. On Wednesday, 27 October, Jonathan Tah and Co. play Karlsruher SC in the DFB Cup. The kick-off at the BayArena is at 18.30 CEST.
Match stats:
FC Köln: Horn – Schmitz (Schindler 79’), Czichos, Kilian, Hector – Özcan – Ljubicic, Kainz (Thielmann 79’) – Duda (Andersson 77’) – Uth (Schaub 90’), Modeste.
Bayer 04: Hradecky – Frimpong, Kossounou, Hincapie (Bakker 46’) – Andrich, Demirbay – Bellarabi (Adli 36’), Wirtz (Palacios 77’), Diaby (Tapsoba 77’) – Schick (Schick 87’).
Goals: 0-1 Schick (15’), 0-2 Bellarabi (17’), 1-2, 2-2 Modeste (63’, 83’)
Booked: Uth – Demirbay, Diaby, Andrich
Referee: Felix Zwayer (Berlin)
Attendance: 49,600
It was another incredibly close call in the end: The second showdown in the 2026/27 VBL Club Championship saw the #B04eSports team once again narrowly miss out on a place in the top 16 of the preliminary round – and with it, a spot in the in-person knockout stage. It was a bitter blow: Marc and Sean Landwehr again fell just short, despite being level on points with their rivals. As was the case last month, their weaker record across the twelve individual matches in the six preliminary round fixtures proved decisive.
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“They stuck with us over the past few weeks when things weren’t going so well,” said captain Edmond Tapsoba, thanking the fans for their support after the 2–1 win in Cologne and dedicating the derby victory to them. Throughout the 90 minutes, the Werkself had looked unfazed and in command, inflicting the first home defeat of the season on FC Köln. It was the sixth consecutive win against the Cologne team for Bayer 04 – head coach Carles Martínez, on the other hand, was facing the team from the neighbouring city for the first time and “now really knows what this derby win means”. The Werkself derby review.
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Following the 2–1 derby victory away at FC Köln on Bundesliga matchday 9, Edmond Tapsoba, Malik Tillman and Aleix Garcia spoke to Werkself TV...
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 2-1 derby win at 1. FC Köln Matchday 9 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season...
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There were celebrations among those in black and red at the RheinEnergieSTADION. On Matchday 9 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season, the Werkself beat 1. FC Köln 2-0 and registered their sixth successive win in the derby. Aleix Garcia put Bayer 04 in front after just seven minutes with a direct free kick. Leverkusen played with discipline and energy after that and didn't allow some fierce challenges to unsettle them. Patrik Schick made it 2-0 in the 86th minute, and Said El Mala's goal in stoppage time for Köln proved nothing more than consolation. Jonas Hofmann crowned the derby win with his 100th appearance for the club.
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