Saïd El Mala leads Cologne to Rhine derby delight against Borussia Mönchengladbach
Cologne defeated Borussia Mönchengladbach 2-1 in the Rhine derby, with Saïd El Mala scoring the winner and earning the Man of the Match award after a stunning individual display. The result means Gladbach remain rooted to the bottom of the Bundesliga table without a point to their name.
Cologne 2-1 Borussia Mönchengladbach
Goals: 1-0 Jóhannesson 26’, 1-1 Scally 39’ (assist: Ullirch), 2-1 El Mala 67’ (assist: Maina)
Four changes greeted Cologne's starting line-up compared to their defeat at Hamburg on Matchday 4, with Borna Sosa, Sebastian Sebulonsen, Marius Bülter and Ísak Jóhannesson all receiving the nod.
New Borussia Mönchengladbach head coach Alexander Blessin made only two alterations to the side beaten by Mainz last time out, handing Robin Hack and Daiki Hashioka starts whilst retaining the 3-4-2-1 shape.
Jóhannesson's stunner breaks the deadlock
Gladbach began the brighter side, with Florian Neuhaus and Philipp Sander both testing Marvin Schwäbe inside the opening minutes. Cologne grew into the game, however, and El Mala twice went close before the breakthrough arrived in the 26th minute. A partially cleared free-kick fell to Jóhannesson just outside the box, who drove a side-footed effort first time beyond Moritz Nicolas and into the top left corner.
Gladbach responded, and in the 39th minute Lukas Ullrich's cross from the left found Joe Scally unmarked at the back post, who headed home the equaliser from close range. Ellyes Skhiri was later stretchered off after a collision with Neuhaus, and the sides went in level at 1-1.
El Mala's curler decides it
Tom Krauß replaced the injured Skhiri at the break, and Cologne dominated the early stages of the second half without adding to their lead. El Mala came closest to restablishing the lead, but the No.10 was denied by Jan Leszczyński's goal-line clearance. Kevin Diks was also called into action to block another effort.
It would not be until the 67th minute that the decisive moment would come. Following a Neuhaus error, Linton Maina played a long ball to El Mala, who cut inside and curled a right-footed shot beyond Nicolas into the bottom right corner to fire Cologne back in front.
Gladbach brought on substitutes in search of a response, and had late half-chances through Hugo Bolin and Zento Uno, both saved by Schwäbe, but Cologne held on through six minutes of stoppage time to seal the derby win.
Man of the Match: Saïd El Mala
El Mala scored the winning goal with a curling right-footed strike and set up further chances throughout the second half, including a shot blocked on the line by Leszczyński.
He topped Cologne's fantasy manager rankings and recorded the most shots of any player in the match, with eight, as well as the match's highest top speed.
Bundesliga Match Facts
xGoals: Cologne 1.40 - Gladbach 1.22
Fastest player: El Mala (Cologne), 34.98 km/h
Lowest goal probability: 2-1 by El Mala (Cologne), 3 percent
Pass efficiency: Skhiri (Cologne), +1.94
Fantasy Heroes: El Mala (Cologne, 230 Points), Scally (Gladbach, 229 Points), Jóhannesson (Cologne, 226 Points)
