Ujah-inspired Köln send Schalke to defeat
Gelsenkirchen - FC Schalke 04 suffered a fifth defeat of the season as 1. FC Köln ran out deserved 2-1 winners at the Veltins Arena.
Profligacy punished
The hosts dominated the opening 45 minutes but failed to convert any of their chances, before Anthony Ujah punished them a minute after the restart. Matthias Lehmann doubled the lead from the penalty spot halfway through the second period, and although Leroy Sane reduced the deficit late on, the visitors held on.
For the first time this season, Schalke opted for an unchanged starting line-up, testament to their 4-0 win in Stuttgart, and the hosts dominated the opening 45 minutes. Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting forced Timo Horn into action in the ninth minute, while Atsuto Uchida was prominent in every attacking move. The closest Roberto Di Matteo’s side came was a Max Meyer shot in the 26th minute, which deflected just wide of the target. For their part, Köln lacked ideas and went into the break without a single shot to their name.
Within a minute of the restart, the visitors changed that statistic, as well as the scoreline. Benedikt Höwedes lost the ball on the edge of the box and Anthony Ujah capitalised, firing home smartly to give Peter Stöger’s men the lead. The following 20 minutes saw Di Matteo’s troops work hard but create little as promising as their first-half chances, and they were punished when Höwedes brought down Pawel Olkowski in the box in the 67th minute. Lehmann converted the resultant penalty powerfully and despite Sane's first Bundesliga goal five minutes from time, the Billy Goats held on to take all three points.
Line-ups and statistics
