Köln beat Gladbach 2-1 as Blessin’s first match leaves his side bottom

Köln beat Borussia Mönchengladbach 2-1 at RheinEnergieSTADION on Sunday, 11 October, as Saïd El Mala’s second-half winner left Alexander Blessin’s side bottom of the Bundesliga after five matches without a point. The Rhine derby was Blessin’s first match as Gladbach coach, making the defeat an immediate measure of the task facing him.

The German Football Association’s match record lists a sellout crowd of 50,000 in Cologne. Gladbach went into the derby seeking a change in form after a difficult opening to the league season, but an equaliser before half-time was not enough to earn their first point.

How Köln won the Rhine derby

Gladbach began brightly. Florian Neuhaus and Philipp Sander both tested Köln goalkeeper Marvin Schwäbe early, according to the Bundesliga match report. Köln then grew into the contest, with El Mala having two attempts before the decisive moment later in the game.

Ísak Jóhannesson put Köln ahead in the 26th minute, striking first time from outside the box after Gladbach only partly cleared a free-kick. The lead lasted 13 minutes: Joe Scally headed in a cross from Lukas Ullrich to make it 1-1 in the 39th minute.

Gladbach still had opportunities to respond. Schwäbe saved late efforts from Hugo Bolin and Zento Uno, and Köln held their lead through six minutes of added time. The Bundesliga’s expected-goals figures, 1.40 for Köln and 1.22 for Gladbach, indicate a closer contest than the league positions alone might suggest.

El Mala was named the Bundesliga report’s Man of the Match. He took eight shots, more than anyone else on the pitch, and recorded the match’s highest top speed at 34.98 km/h. His winner decided a derby in which both teams had spells of pressure.

What the defeat means for Alexander Blessin and Gladbach

The Guardian reported that Gladbach remained bottom after five league games, with no points and a goal difference of minus 11. Blessin has inherited a side already needing results, and losing a derby at the start of his tenure adds urgency to the next league fixture.

Blessin had met several key players only in the days before the Köln match, The Guardian reported. Its account described him taking charge after Eugen Polanski and an interim spell under Jan-Moritz Lichte. The derby therefore offered limited preparation time for a new coach trying to change the team’s course.

Gladbach’s available options were also affected by injuries. The Guardian identified striker Tim Kleindienst and defender Ko Itakura as injured, alongside an existing absence for Franck Honorat. Those absences provide context for Blessin’s opening weeks, although the result itself remains a setback for a team still seeking its first point.

The Guardian reported that Hoffenheim were Gladbach’s next opponents and had also started the league season poorly. That made the fixture consequential for both sides in its assessment. The cited reporting establishes no result beyond the Köln derby, so Gladbach’s response under Blessin remains to be seen.

El Mala’s winner and Köln’s injury concern

El Mala told The Guardian he had never been so fired up for a match. He said he had recently been through a rough patch and described persistence as one of his strengths. His decisive goal followed a season in which, according to the same report, he scored 13 times in 20 league starts as a teenager.

The Guardian also reported that El Mala had become a full Germany international and extended his Köln contract after a summer move to Borussia Dortmund fell through. He became the first Köln player to wear the No. 10 shirt since Lukas Podolski, a detail that added to the attention on his performance in the derby.

Köln had injury concerns of their own before kick-off: The Guardian reported that forwards Ragnar Ache and Thijs Dallinga were unavailable. During the match, midfielder Ellyes Skhiri was stretchered off after a collision with Neuhaus. Tom Krauß replaced him at half-time, according to the Bundesliga report.

Neither account establishes the nature of Skhiri’s injury or when he might return. For Köln, the confirmed outcome is a derby victory secured by El Mala’s goal; for Gladbach, the confirmed position is a winless, pointless start that Blessin must address after his first match in charge.