Cordoba snatches draw for Cologne against Augsburg

Cologne 1-1 Augsburg
Goals: 0-1 Niederlechner (43'), 1-1 Cordoba (86')
Red cards: Czichos (39'), Hahn (44')

Fresh from the 4-0 thumping of Hertha Berlin last week – their second successive victory – there was an air of confidence about Augsburg’s play at the RheinEnergieStadion, although they also had to show their battling qualities early on against an aggressive home side. Nevertheless, they were given the chance to take the lead in the seventh minute when Rafael Czichos fouled Florian Niederlechner inside the box, but Cologne goalkeeper Timo Horn saved the resulting penalty from Andre Hahn. Chances were at a premium for much of a hard-fought encounter, but the match sparked into life shortly before the interval when Czichos was sent off for a second bookable offence. Niederlechner broke the deadlock from a Philipp Max cross moments later, before Augsburg were also reduced to 10 men when Hahn was given his marching orders following a second yellow.

With more space to play in after the interval, the match became an increasingly open, end-to-end spectacle, although it was Cologne who managed to wrestle control of the game. Anthony Modeste and Sebastiaan Bornauw had early glimpses of goal before Ruben Vargas drew a good reflex save from Horn with a deflected strike at the other end of the pitch. The Billy Goats should have equalised in the closing stages as Florian Kainz, Simon Terodde and Cordoba all had clear-cut chances to score, but were denied by either wayward finishing or Augsburg goalkeeper Tomas Koubek. Cologne’s pressure eventually took its toll though, when Cordoba chased down a long ball in the right-hand channel, skipped past the outrushing Koubek and coolly slotted in a deserved equaliser. The draw was a fair result overall, although neither side will be particularly happy with a point as they look to pull clear of the relegation zone.

• Augsburg had scored 12 consecutive penalties in the Bundesliga prior to this game. The last player to miss one for the club was Paul Verhaegh in March 2017.
• Horn has saved four of the 25 penalties he has faced in the Bundesliga. His last stop was against Freiburg's Christian Günter in April 2018.
• Niederlechner scored his sixth goal of the campaign, a personal best in the first half of a season.
• The forward has scored more goals than any other player new to their club since the summer.
• Max was involved in a goal for the third game in a row, providing the assist here after scoring in the two previous games.
• Augsburg have not lost in 10 games against Cologne. Their last defeat to the Billy Goats was in October 2011, when Lukas Podolski scored twice in a 3-0 reverse at the RheinEnergieStadion.

Cologne: Horn – Schmitz, Bornauw, Czichos, Hector (c) – Drexler, Verstraete (Kainz 46'), Höger (Ehizibue 46'), Jakobs – Terodde, Modeste (Cordoba 64')
Unused subs: Kessler, Sobiech, Risse, Schaub, Schindler, Skhiri
Out: Clemens (knee), Koziello (ankle), Mere (calf)
Coach: Markus Gisdol

Augsburg: Koubek – Framberger (Lichtsteiner 28'), Gouweleeuw, Jedvaj, Max – Khedira, Baier (c) – Hahn, Niederlechner, Vargas (Jensen 84') – Cordova (Moravek 57')
Unused subs: Luthe, Iago, Pedersen, Uduokhai, Richter, Schieber
Out: -
Coach: Martin Schmidt