Hamburg beat Cologne to pick up first win of the season
Nicolás Capaldo's first-half header and a neat Yussuf Poulsen finish gave Hamburg a 2-1 win over Cologne, as Ragnar Ache's late header couldn't stop the hosts from picking up their first win of the season.
Hamburg 2-1 CologneGoals: 1-0 Capaldo 44’ (assist: Grønbæk), 2-0 Poulsen 50’ (assist: Grønbæk), 2-1 Ache 90’ (assist: Skhiri)
Hamburg entered the match having lost all three of their opening Bundesliga fixtures without scoring a goal, while Cologne had managed a win, draw and a loss from their opening fixtures.
Head coach Merlin Polzin made three changes to his starting eleven, with the big news being that Fábio Vieira was back in the team after injury.
René Wagner was also able to make an important change of his own as Saïd El Mala returned to his line-up in place of Marius Bülter.
Capaldo header stuns Cologne before the break
Cologne dominated possession from the outset and created the first sight of goal through Thijs Dallinga, whose effort from a tight angle struck the side netting. Mikey Moore and El Mala then forced Daniel Heuer Fernandes into good saves from range before Dallinga squandered a great headed chance by placing his effort too close to the goalkeeper, allowing the Hamburg shot-stopper the time to react and make a superb save.
Then came the Hamburg suckerpunch just before the interval as Albert Grønbæk's corner from the left found Capaldo completely unmarked at the back post, and the Argentine headed home to send Hamburg in front at the interval.
Poulsen doubles the lead, Ache grabs consolation goal
Moore then fired over just after the interval from a great position before Hamburg struck on the break once more as Grønbæk proved provider once again, sending in a perfect cross for substitute Yussuf Poulsen to fire home in the centre.
El Mala almost pulled a goal back immediately, but Heuer Fernandes did well once again to keep out the visitors.
Hamburg then took the ascendancy for the first time in the match as they went in search of a third, with Nicolai Remberg, Vieira and Poulsen all coming close.
Cologne regained control of the ball late on as Luka Lochoshvili prodded El Mala's initial shot onto the post, before substitute Ache finally pulled a goal back, heading home from Ellyes Skhiri's delivery, but it was too little, too late.
Man of the Match: Nicolás Capaldo
Capaldo scored Hamburg's opener with a close-range header from Grønbæk's corner and also made a vital tackle to deny Dallinga in the box, topping the game's fantasy-manager rankings for the match, underlining his influence at both ends of the pitch.
Bundesliga Match Facts
xGoals: Hamburg 1.58 - Cologne 1.77
Fastest player: Linton Maina (Cologne), 34.72 km/h
Lowest goal probability: 1-0 by Nicolás Capaldo (Hamburg), 30 per cent
Pass efficiency: Linton Maina (Cologne), +2.05
Fantasy Heroes: Nicolás Capaldo (Hamburg, 225 Points), Yussuf Poulsen (Hamburg, 206 Points), Ragnar Ache (Cologne, 183 Points)
