Köln draw rubber-stamps runners-up spot for Wolfsburg
Cologne - VfL Wolfsburg finished the 2014/15 campaign as Bundesliga runners-up after playing out an entertaining 2-2 draw with 1. FC Köln.
Money's worth
Quick-fire Wolfsburg goals from Luiz Gustavo and Ivan Perisic cancelled out Yuya Osako's opener, but the Billy Goats hit back in the second half through Robin Knoche's own goal to secure a deserved share of the spoils in front of a partisan RheinEnergieStadion crowd.
The visitors' hopes of holding on to second place were dealt a blow inside the opening three minutes when Marcel Risse played in Osako to slot past Max Grün. Wolfsburg were rocking defensively, but uncertainty in the Köln rearguard allowed the visitors to wrestle back the initiative. Gustavo was the first to profit after the Billy Goats failed to clear a Kevin De Bruyne corner, before Dominic Maroh passed straight to Daniel Caligiuri, who teed up Perisic to put the Wolves ahead.
Köln's positive approach continued to make life anything but easy for Dieter Hecking's men, who had Grün to thank for preserving their lead early in the second half. Diego Benaglio's understudy made a fantastically brave stop at the feet of Osako, but he could do little to prevent the home side levelling with 29 minutes left on the clock. Risse was again the provider, with Slawomir Peszko stealing a yard on his marker to turn the ball in, off Knoche, from eight yards. Wolfsburg's Andre Schürrle might have won it for the visitors, but Borussia Mönchengladbach's 3-1 defeat to FC Augsburg ensured the Wolves ended the campaign three points clear of third place in any case. Köln, meanwhile, finished the day where they started in 12th.
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