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M05 Mainz 1. FSV Mainz 05 - KOE Köln 1. FC Köln

Highlight Video 1 fsv mainz 05 vs 1 fc koeln

Highlights

90'
M. Bülter
P. Nebel
60'

MEWA ARENA(Sold out)

Tobias Stieler

34 %Marvin Schwäbe

Kwasniok: It wasn't an undeserved win

"We headed here and knew what was waiting for us. Mainz were the better side on the ball in the first-half. The first 10-15 minutes in the second half were good and the red card came after that. We're even happier that Marius Bülter managed to have that one moment and make it count, it was a wild stoppage time! It wasn't an undeserved win, so we're heading home happy."

Full-time: Mainz 0-1 Cologne

What a thrilling second half! The sending off of Nebel really brought this game to life, with Cologne throwing everything at Mainz's defence in the final half hour. With the likes of El Mala, Ache and Waldschmidt all coming on alongside Bülter to push for a winner, life quickly became very difficult for the 05ers. The results weren't instant though, and the Billy Goats had to wait until additional time at the end of the 90 to find the elusive winner, which came courtesy of new signing Bülter. Cologne start their 2025/26 season and their return to the Bundesliga which a huge win, giving them plenty of confidence ahead of Matchday 2.

Full-time

90'

+ 12

Fruitless corner

Mwene's delivery bounces harmlessly out for a goal-kick off a Mainz shirt, and Zentner has to sprint back into his goal.

90'

+ 11

Mainz with a late corner

And Zentner is up too! Will they find a dramatic equaliser?

90'

+ 10

Ache can't continue

The striker limps off despite the best efforts of the medical team.

90'

+ 6

Ache down

The substitute is receiving treatment after what seemed a harmless challenge, causing discontent from the Mainz bench.

90'

+ 3

Substitution

Armindo Sieb

Dominik Kohr

Goal! Bülter heads home in added time!

A great in-swinging cross from the right by Waldschmidt finds the head of debutant Bülter, who glances his header into the far corner of Zentner's goal.

90'

Marius Bülter

GOAL!

0:1

Goal probability

Goal probability determines the likelihood that the ball will land in the goal from every position on the pitch. The value is based on large amounts of data from previous years; factors such as shot angle, distance to goal and opponent pressure - as well as mathematical models.

42 %

Distance to Goal

The distance to goal is measured at the time of the shot - from the position of the ball to the center of the goal.

7.63 m

90'

Speed check: The fastest player in the game after 90 minutes

Through high-end camera technology and machine learning, the speed of each player is evaluated in real time. Top speed then means, the fastest measured single frame of a player/game.

Saïd El Mala34.38km/h

Sebastian Söraas Sebulonsen33.66km/h

Joël Pascal Schmied33.47km/h

Will we see a late winner?

With Cologne pushing hard and Mainz still looking lively on the counter, will we see a goal before the game's end?

83'

Two bites at the cherry!

Widmer has a great chance to fire his team into an unlikely lead. The ball finds him in the area and after his first-time shot is blocked he has another chance with the follow up, but again can't find the finish and sees his effort blocked again, leading to a corner this time.

81'

Yellow card

Joël Schmied

80'

Wayward

The shot count has increased for both sides, but almost all of them have been off target.

Goal attempts

10off target

2on target

11off target

1on target

80'

Substitution

Florian Kainz

Ísak Jóhannesson

Attack heavy

Cologne have flooded the pitch with attackers as they look to capitalise on their man advantage.

74'

Substitution

Luca Waldschmidt

Sebastian Sebulonsen

72'

Weiper's volley dealt with

A cross from the right finds the striker just inside the box and he's quick to volley goalward, but a deflection takes the sting out of his attempt.

71'

Putting in the hard yards

Both sides have been working hard this afternoon, though to little effect so far.

Sprints

114

110

70'

Fresh faces

Cologne now make three changes of their own, as both sides search for that winning recipe late on.

67'

Substitution

Cenk Özkacar

Jan Thielmann

67'

Substitution

Ragnar Ache

Kristoffer Lund

67'

Substitution

Saïd El Mala

Tom Krauß

65'

Substitution

Lennard Maloney

Nadiem Amiri

65'

Substitution

Stefan Bell

Andreas Hanche-Olsen

65'

Substitution

Silvan Widmer

Anthony Caci

65'

Mainz react

Bo Henriksen makes three changes in response to going down to ten men.

Free-kick goes over

With both teams now having calmed down after that decision, the visitors finally take the free-kick, which is curled comfortably over the bar by Thielmann.

62'

Yellow card

Bo Henriksen

0:30

End-to-end stuff!

Mainz have a penalty claim waved away and Cologne clear the ball, which leads to a chase between Nebel and Kamiński . The Cologne man gets there first and is taken down by Nebel not far from the Mainz box, resulting in a red card for the Mainz midfielder.

60'

SituationNo penalty

ReviewFoul?

DecisionNo penalty

60'

Red card

Paul Nebel

55'

Positive start

xGoals

The xGoals value of a club is calculated from the sum of all goal probabilities (goals and shots on goal) of that team. During a match, it’s easy to see whether the club is performing better than expected (goals > xGoals) - or maybe even higher (xGoals > goals).

Just 10 minutes in, and Cologne have drastically reduced the xG deficit.

xGoals

0.68

0.58

Goals

51'

Cologne with the initial pressure

It's the visitors who are taking the initiative in these opening minutes, continuing to look dangerous after that big chance.

49'

Early chance!

Bülter and Kamiński combine down the left with Bülter's subsequent cross finding Thielmann on the corner of the six yard box, but he fails to guide his finish into the far bottom corner and sees the ball run wide.

47'

Tough start

Just moments into the half, and Caci is down injured with what seems to be an ankle problem.

46'

The action returns

Cologne get this second half started.

Kick-off!

Half-time

Half-time: Mainz 0-0 Cologne

It's been a half of little goalmouth action, with either side only capable of creating half chances at best. The hosts have had plenty of the ball and occupied Cologne's final third for much of the half, but have found it difficult to find that final pass as of yet.

45'

Kamiński tests Zentner

The Billy Goats manage to retain possession, eventually finding Kamiński on the left-hand side of the box. He whips his effort toward the far corner of the net, but Zentner is equal to it and punches it firmly away.

42'

Mainz miles ahead

xGoals

As we approach the break, it's the hosts who lead in terms of xG, and comfortably too.

xGoals

0.68

0.09

Goals

0:30

Penalty shout

Hübers appears to go through the back of Lee in the box, but the referee waves away the 05ers' penalty claims.

36'

05ers win another corner

After sustained pressure, the hosts win another corner. Amiri whips it in toward Weiper at the front post but he heads over.

33'

Nebel blazes over

With Cologne's defence difficult to penetrate, Nebel tries his luck from the edge of the box, but fires it well over.

30'

Speed check: The fastest player in the game after 30 minutes

Through high-end camera technology and machine learning, the speed of each player is evaluated in real time. Top speed then means, the fastest measured single frame of a player/game.

Sebastian Söraas Sebulonsen33.66km/h

Joël Pascal Schmied33.47km/h

Phillipp Mwene32.74km/h

29'

Cologne show some bite

Kamiński cuts in and finds Sebulonsen on the far side of the box, but the full-back hastily shoots well wide.

28'

A first booking

Lund receives the first yellow of the game after stopping Sano from initiating a break away.

27'

Yellow card

Kristoffer Lund

Cutting edge absent

For all their possession and threat, Mainz are also having trouble creating clear-cut chances.

Hosts stamping their authority

Cologne have been penned in their own half for the past few minutes, with Mainz ramping up the pressure as they search for that opening goal.

20'

Missing a trick

Cologne have struggled to pierce the Mainz backline and are still yet to have a shot.

Goal attempts

3off target

0on target

0off target

0on target

15'

Debut cut short

Hollerbach is replaced by Weiper, as he departs the field with ice tightly strapped to his hamstring.

15'

Substitution

Nelson Weiper

Benedict Hollerbach

Hollerbach pulls up

The summer signing sits himself down on the pitch having appeared to injure himself in a sprint. He's currently receiving treatment, with Weiper being readied on the sideline.

12'

Getting the ball rolling

The away side have looked composed on the ball, but are yet to test the hosts.

Possession (%)

4456

10'

Growing into the game

After a nervous start, the visitors have settled and enjoyed a spell of possession.

Kohr goes down

The Mainz defender is clipped by Thielmann chasing a loose ball and looks to be in real pain as he receives treatment.

Nebel with the early chance!

A ball over the top finds the run of Mwene, whose cut-back cross finds Nebel in space in the area, although his shot is blocked by a wall of black shirts. Big chance!

Aaaand we're off!

And it's the 05ers who get the ball rolling.

Kick-off!

0:31

The visitors head out for the warm-up

0:07

Captain Amiri is ready to lead the 05ers

0:15

Kwasniok & Co. have arrived!

More on those teams

Both sides begin the 2025/26 season with a new striker leading the line. Benedict Hollerbach starts for Mainz after his summer move from Union Berlin, replacing former captain Jonathan Burkardt, while the experienced Marius Bülter leads the line for Cologne upon their return to top flight football. Mainz's only change from their loss to Rosenborg is Andreas Hanche-Olsen coming in for Stefan Bell at the back.

Starting line-up: 1. FSV Mainz 05

Mainz subs

Riess, Widmer, Leitsch, Bell, Nordin, Maloney, Weiper, Bobzien, Sieb

Starting line-up: 1. FC Köln

Cologne subs

Zieler, Gazibegović, van den Berg, Özkacar, Huseinbašić, Kainz, El Mala, Waldschmidt, Ache

Henriksen on Cologne clash

“We won our first game [in the DFB Cup]. We didn’t play our best game in our second match [in the UEFA Conference League], but we’re ready for our Bundesliga opener. We’re playing at home in front of a full house. We’re looking forward to getting under way. Cologne are a very good team, but we have huge belief in ourselves.”

Kwasniok on facing Mainz

“Mainz are one or two years ahead of us in terms of their development. They work unbelievably hard and chase every ball in the final third. We can learn a thing or two from them - we want to press with similar intensity.”

Predicted line-up: 1. FSV Mainz 05

Predicted line-up: 1. FC Köln

Late drama for the Billy Goats

Cologne also made it through their DFB Cup first-round tie with Jahn Regensburg, although in much more dramatic fashion than Bo Henriksen's men against Dresden. Lukas Kwasniok's side trailed until the sixth minute of additional time, when Eric Martel gave them a lifeline right at the death. Not content with the idea of extra-time, Ísak Jóhannesson popped up with the winning goal just two minutes later, completing an incredible turnaround.

Coming in hot

In addition to their DFB Cup efforts, Mainz will also begin their UEFA Europa Conference League journey before meeting with Cologne. They'll face Norwegian side Rosenborg on Thursday in the first installment of their two-legged play-off tie.

Unstoppable 05ers

Mainz are unbeaten in their last 13 home games in the Bundesliga! Not only is this a club record, but it's also currently the longest such winning streak of any team.

3:28

Watch: The best first goals in a Bundesliga season

Joshua Kimmich is among the scorers - check out the finest opening strikes of Bundesliga seasons across the years.

2:03

Watch: Mainz 1-1 Cologne - highlights

The Billy Goats scored a stoppage-time penalty the last time they visited Mainz in April 2024. Both sides were in trouble at the bottom, although it was only the 05ers who managed to stay up that season.

Hello and welcome!

Welcome along and thanks for joining us for build-up and live coverage of this Matchday 1 fixture between 1. FSV Mainz 05 and 1. FC Köln.

M05 Mainz 1. FSV Mainz 05 - KOE Köln 1. FC Köln

Highlights

Man of the Match Result

Kwasniok: It wasn't an undeserved win

Full-time: Mainz 0-1 Cologne

Fruitless corner

Mainz with a late corner

Ache can't continue

Ache down

Substitution

Goal! Bülter heads home in added time!

Marius Bülter

GOAL!

Speed check: The fastest player in the game after 90 minutes

Will we see a late winner?

Two bites at the cherry!

Yellow card

Wayward

Substitution

Attack heavy

Substitution

Weiper's volley dealt with

Putting in the hard yards

Fresh faces

Substitution

Substitution

Substitution

Substitution

Substitution

Substitution

Mainz react

Free-kick goes over

Yellow card

End-to-end stuff!

Red card

Positive start

Cologne with the initial pressure

Early chance!

Tough start

The action returns

Half-time: Mainz 0-0 Cologne

Kamiński tests Zentner

Mainz miles ahead

Penalty shout

05ers win another corner

Nebel blazes over

Speed check: The fastest player in the game after 30 minutes

Cologne show some bite

A first booking

Yellow card

Cutting edge absent

Hosts stamping their authority

Missing a trick

Debut cut short

Substitution

Hollerbach pulls up

Getting the ball rolling

Growing into the game

Kohr goes down

Nebel with the early chance!

Aaaand we're off!

The visitors head out for the warm-up

Captain Amiri is ready to lead the 05ers

Kwasniok & Co. have arrived!

More on those teams

Starting line-up: 1. FSV Mainz 05

Mainz subs

Starting line-up: 1. FC Köln

Cologne subs

Henriksen on Cologne clash

Kwasniok on facing Mainz

Predicted line-up: 1. FSV Mainz 05

Predicted line-up: 1. FC Köln

Late drama for the Billy Goats

Coming in hot

Unstoppable 05ers

Watch: The best first goals in a Bundesliga season

Watch: Mainz 1-1 Cologne - highlights

Hello and welcome!