Cologne pair Said El Mala and Thijs Dallinga kick off Bundesliga campaign in style
Home fans in attendance at the RheinEnergieStadion on Saturday were on their feet applauding two heroes at the final whistle: a familiar one in the shape of star winger Said El Mala, and a new one, recent loan signing Thijs Dallinga, who came off the bench in the second half to notch an unforgettable brace in a dramatic 3-2 fightback win over Hoffenheim on Bundesliga Matchday 1.
As the clock entered the 72nd minute of the entertaining opening-day clash, things looked a little bleak for Cologne. Trailing 2-1 after Hoffenheim's Adam Daghim and Ozan Kabak had struck either side of an excellent El Mala equaliser, and having already substituted their goalscoring talisman, it appeared as if their 2026/27 Bundesliga campaign was off to a stuttering start.
That was reckoning without the significant impact of debutant Dutchman Dallinga, who had come off the bench in the 65th minute to replace Ragnar Ache, at the same time that El Mala was being replaced by Linton Maina, in an astute roll of the dice by head coach René Wagner that would pay dividends within a matter of minutes.
First, Maina made a strong overlapping run down the right and sent the ball across for Dallinga, who timed his incursion into the box to perfection and slammed the ball home with his left foot for 2-2. Then, as if that were not impactful enough, the lively striker, who joined the club on loan from Serie A side Bologna just under two weeks ago, showed great alertness to pounce on a loose ball in the area and steer it home with conviction to hand his new side a 3-2 lead with eight minutes to go.
"If you look at the scores, the Bundesliga always has a lot of goals, and that was the case again today," said the Groningen native, taking the acclaim from the crowd at full-time. "That was what attracted me about coming here and today I showed why I came."
Fellow goalscorer El Mala, who recently committed himself - after much transfer speculation over the summer - to Cologne by signing a contract extension, revealed post-match that he had let out a cry of joy at the final whistle. "I’m a very emotional person," said the influential No.10. "I always want to win. The way we're able to keep coming back is a great strength. We show that time and again."
Prior to his well-taken leveller, the precocious winger had threatened to find the net on two occasions in the first half, but robust defending and proficient goalkeeping prevented him from getting on the scoresheet. There was no stopping him in the 51st minute, though: after playing a neat one-two with Ísak Jóhannesson, he sped past his man, left another Hoffenheim defender in his wake and then steered home a shot that took a slight deflection on its way. The crowd inside the RheinEnergieStadion rose as one to pay tribute to their hero.
“If you don’t shoot, you don’t score," added the 20-year-old. "There was certainly a bit of luck involved. But I’d also worked hard for it throughout the match."
Watch: Cologne 3-2 Hoffenheim - highlights
Wagner, who was appointed on a permanent basis at the end of last season, was effusive in his praise for the goalscoring duo, stressing El Mala's mental strength.
"By now, everyone knows what he’s capable of," he said. "Although he missed those two chances in the first half, he kept at it, which isn't easy. He showed again today that he can score at any moment. I’m delighted that he’s been rewarded today."
As for Dallinga, the official Man of the Match, the Billy Goats coach could not hide his delight at the Dutch attacker's eye-opening cameo. "He’d already shown during the week just how dangerous he can be in the area," he remarked. "When the ball comes into the box, he’ll score goals. He proved that impressively today."
With Cologne's next challenge - a trip to take on VfB Stuttgart on Friday - just around the corner, it remains to be seen if the former Toulouse front man will get the chance to prove it again, but from the start this time, alongside El Mala.
