Nico Elvedi (r.) slots the ball into the net to put Gladbach in front early in the second half. - © © imago / T-F-Foto
Nico Elvedi (r.) slots the ball into the net to put Gladbach in front early in the second half. - © © imago / T-F-Foto

Elvedi strike gives Gladbach Rhine derby win over Cologne

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Gladbach dominated a fiercely contested Rhine derby to round off the opening weekend of the 2017/18 Bundesliga season in style with a 1-0 win over local rivals Cologne.

Gladbach 1-0 Cologne

Goals: 1-0 Elvedi (49')

The hosts began strongly and completely dominated the opening 30 minutes, managing to carve out opportunities for Raffael and Lars Stindl, among others, but were unable to beat goalkeeper Timo Horn. Cologne threatened sporadically on the break and had a couple of half-chances through Jhon Cordoba, who was a tireless presence on his league debut for the club. The visitors gradually fought their way back into the game but an entertaining first 45 minutes ended goalless.

Gladbach's pressure finally took its toll early in the second half when Ibrahima Traore found space to scamper down the left and bend an excellent low cross to the back post, where right-back Nico Elvedi charged in to tap through Horn's legs and into the net. The Foals remained the dominant force in the match and although Cologne rallied towards the end the never looked like breaking down an impressive home team.

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Man of the match

Elvedi, like most of Gladbach's team, had an excellent game. The right-back was composed on the ball, scored a great goal and put in a solid defensive shift as well to help his side keep a clean sheet.

Match stats

    Elvedi's goal was his first in the Bundesliga, coming in his 47th outing.The Foals have won more games against the Billy Goats than against any other side (48). That is also the most defeats for Cologne against any club.Cordoba had nine shots on goal – more than any other player in the Bundesliga on Matchday 1.Cologne's Milos Jojic ran 13.3km this match – the only player to go over 13km.Borussia had the worst chance conversion in the league last season. It was a similar story again here: they only scored once from 21 attempts on goal.Raffael won a whopping 16 tackles in this game – more than any other player.

Watch: Highlights of Gladbach's Rhine derby triumph

Line-ups

Gladbach: Sommer – Elvedi, Ginter, Vestergaard, Wendt – Traore (Hofmann 84'), Kramer, Zakaria, Hazard (Herrmann 81') – Stindl (c), Raffael (Bobadilla 88')

Coach: Dieter Hecking

Cologne: Horn – Klünter, Sörensen, Heintz, Rausch (J. Horn 45+3') – Risse (Guirassy 59'), Lehmann (c), Hector, Bittencourt (Zoller 75') – Cordoba, Jojic

Coach: Peter Stöger

Watch: Gladbach defender Jannik Vestergaard reflects on sending the fans home happy

Head to the Match Centre for more on this fixture.