Werkself win 2-1 in Cologne to claim sixth straight derby win

Head coach Carles Martínez made three changes to his line-up for the derby following the 1-0 defeat against Olympique Marseille in the UEFA Europa League in midweek. Ezequiel Fernández returned in defensive midfield in place of Robert Andrich, while Afonso Moreira and Malik Tillman replaced Lucas Vázquez and Jonas Hofmann in attack. Cheered on by around 5,000 travelling Bayer 04 fans in the Müngersdorf district of Cologne, the Werkself immediately took charge of the game – and almost scored after four minutes. However,Köln goalkeeper Marvin Schwäbe saved Patrik Schick’s effort before also denying Ibrahim Maza and Tillman from the resulting corner.

Garcia stunner puts Bayer 04 in front

But just three minutes later, Aleix Garcia did give the visitors the lead with a beauty of a free kick into the top left corner. Mark Flekken and Miguel Gutiérrez then combined to keep out a double chance for Köln as an intensive derby unfolded, in which Leverkusen defended with discipline and attacked with patience.

Schick scores as hofmann reaches landmark

After the break, the game remained hard-fought and at times heated, with 11 yellow cards shown in total. The Werkself kept cool heads, though, and went close to a second goal through Tillman, Moreira and Schick. After that, the Black-and-Reds allowed the hosts more possession, but remained dangerous on the counter. Maza was only centimetres away with his finish on 66 minutes.

Köln were getting into the final third more often now, though, and had their first shot at the Bayer 04 goal of the second half through Said El Mala. Soon after that, Jonas Hofmann came on for his 100th competitive appearance in a Leverkusen shirt - and the 34-year-old was celebrating minutes later. Schick outmuscled his marker in the penalty area before slotting in to make it 2-0 to the Werkself. The hosts did pull a goal back in the second minute of added time through El Mala, but that didn't dampen the loud celebrations among the Bayer 04 supporters after the final whistle.

up next: Paderborn after international break

The Werkself players now head into an international break lasting just under two weeks. You can find out which players are in action and where HERE. After that, the home game against SC Paderborn 07 on Saturday 21 November (15:30 CET) kicks off a busy period up until the winter break, with four consecutive midweek matches.

Match stats:

1. FC Köln: Schwäbe - Schmied, Simpson-Pusey, Krauß (Johannesson 75') - Sebulonsen (Castro-Montes 84'), Maina (Heskey 75'), Okon-Engstler, Moore (Waldschmidt 84'), Sosa - Bülter (M. El Mala 75'), S. El Mala

Bayer 04: Flekken - Quansah, Tapsoba, Medina (Badé 88'), Gutiérrez - Fernández, Garcia - Moreira, Tillman (Hofmann 76'), Maza (Andrich 88') - Schick

Goals: 0-1 Garcia (7'), 0-2 Schick (86'), 1-2 S. El Mala (90'+2)

Yellow cards: Krauß, Moore, Maina, Schmied, Sosa, Simpson-Pusey / Medina, Moreira, Tapsoba, Hofmann, Garcia

Referee: Felix Zwayer

Attendance: 50,000 (sold out) at the RheinEnergieSTADION