Werkself lose 2-1 against efficient FC Köln

Head coach Xabi Alonso made two changes to his starting eleven for the derby on home turf: Nadiem Amiri came into midfield, defender Edmond Tapsoba returned to a position in the back three. Odilon Kossounou dropped down to the bench. The Spaniard opted to play Amine Adli up front in place of Adam Hlozek.

Selke nets brace - Adli scores for the Werkself

The Werkself made a bright start and were on the front foot first: From a high press, Mitchel Bakker raced down the left towards the opposition goal but was brought to a stop on the edge of the penalty area by Timo Hübers (4'). Three minutes later, Adli just failed to connect with the ball from a corner at the far post. It was striking that the hosts again and again pressed the opposition, defended resolutely as a unit and gave nothing away – until the 14th minute: A cross from midfield by Florian Kainz from the right touchline found striker Davie Selke and he was able to head the ball past Lukas Hradecky into the far corner to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

The match then developed into a familiar derby encounter with numerous duels. The Werkself again and again threatened the opposition goal. With 28 minutes on the clock, possession was again won in the Bayer 04 half and a successful move followed: Adli and teammate Bakker joined with Moussa Diaby in a counter-attack. The latter found the unmarked Adli in the box and he was able to fire home a shot into the FC Köln goal – 1-1.

FC Köln responded less than ten minutes later: Again it was a cross from the right – this time from Jan Thielmann – that found Selke in the penalty area again. Neither Jonathan Tah nor Tapsoba got to the cross so the FC Köln player was able to turn the ball into the net with his first touch to restore the lead at 2-1 (36'). That was the scoreline at half-time.

Bayer 04  struggle against FC köln defence playing deep

The Black and Reds were again on top after the restart in a repeat of the first half but the final pass often lacked accuracy also due in part to the opposition defending deep. The first opportunity for FC Köln came with a long-range effort from Jonas Hector but Hradecky was able to turn it away for a corner (51'). As the game progressed, the Werkself were unable to create any real threat on goal. The best chances up to that point for the hosts came from Robert Andrich with a header from a corner that was blocked by opponent Jeff Chabot and Diaby missed the target with a shot from a tight angle (67'). The Alonso team worked hard but the team from Cologne again and again prevented further big chances for the hosts.

Hlozek came off the bench and he had the best opportunity on 89 minutes with a header from a Jeremie Frimpong cross, but FC Köln's Benno Schmitz beat him to the ball. There was little action in added time with the game ending in a 2-1 defeat for the Werkself.

from Rome to Stuttgart

The Werkself now face another double fixture week: Bayer 04 travel to Italy on Wednesday for the semi-final first leg in the Europa League. The kick-off in the match against AS Roma at the Stadio Olimpico on Thursday 11 May is at 21.00 CEST. Xabi Alonso's team will then fly on directly to the next venue: The Black and Reds are away to VfB Stuttgart on Bundesliga matchday 32 on Sunday 14 May. The game at the Mercedes-Benz Arena kicks off at 15.30 CEST.

Match stats:

Bayer 04: Hradecky – Tapsoba, Tah (Azmoun 81'), Hincapie – Frimpong, Amiri (Hlozek 57'), Andrich, Bakker (Palacios 57') – Wirtz – Diaby, Adli (Bellarabi 89')

FC Köln: Schwäbe – Schmitz, Hübers, Chabot, Hector – Ljubicic (Huseinbasic 85'), Skhiri, Thielmann (Olesen 64'), Kainz (Schindler 64'), Maina (Adamyan 85’) – Selke (Tigges 71’)

Goals: 0-1 Selke (14’), 1-1 Adli (28’), 1-2 Selke (36’)

Booked: Adli – Thielmann, Olesen, Selke, Maina, Chabot, Schmitz

Referee: Felix Zwayer (Berlin)

Attendance: 30,210 (sold out) at the BayArena