Ten-man Mainz heap misery on rock-bottom Cologne

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Cologne remain rooted to the foot of the table without a win all season after losing 1-0 to ten-man Mainz on Matchday 12.

Mainz 1-0 Cologne

Goals: 1-0 Brosinski (pen. 45')

Red card: Donati (71')

Mainz started the brighter of the two sides, with Alexandru Maxim heading narrowly past the post inside 15 minutes. Cologne responded in kind, but Milos Jojic was unable to pick out the unmarked Simon Zoller following a driving run from former Mainz favourite Jhon Cordoba. Sehrou Guirassy blew the game's best opening in the 36th minute, and paid the price as Daniel Brosinski fired Mainz ahead from the penalty spot after Konstantin Raush was adjudged - with the help of Video Assist - to have fouled Pablo De Blasis.

Mainz sat back after the restart, keen to protect their slender advantage. When they did venture forward, a deflected Maxim cross almost produced the second goal, but Jean-Philippe Gbamin was unable to apply the telling touch. Cologne threatened with a set-piece of their own as Rausch whipped a direct free-kick narrowly wide of the upright. Giulio Donati's foul on Leonardo Bittencourt and subsequent red card gave Cologne a glimmer of hope with 19 minutes of normal time remaining, but it was not to be for the Bundesliga's bottom club.

Match stats

    Winless this season, Cologne have only taken two points from 12 games. No team has ever had fewer points at this stage of a season. The three previous teams with that poor a record at this stage of a season have all been relegated.Cologne have scored the fewest goals this season (four) and conceded the most (23). No Bundesliga team has ever scored so few goals at this stage of a season.Mainz started the season with four defeats from five, but have only lost one of their last seven.Peter Stöger made a season-high four changes to the side that lost 3-0 to Hoffenheim prior to the international break.Cologne's Cordoba spent two years at Mainz, scoring 10 goals in 51 Bundesliga appearances.Brosinski scored his first Bundesliga goal of the season and second penalty of his career.

Line-ups

Mainz: Zentner – Donati, Diallo, Bell (c), Brosinski – Latza, Gbamin – Maxim (Serdar 65'), Öztunali (Kodro 87'), De Blasis (Holtmann 73') – Muto
Coach: Sandro Schwarz

Cologne: T. Horn – Klünter, Sörensen, Maroh, Rausch – Zoller (Bittencourt 37'), Lehmann (c), Özcan (Osako 60'), Jojic – Cordoba (Pizarro 73'), Guirassy
Coach: Peter Stöger

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