Gladbach and Cologne share the spoils because the wild Rhine derby does not provide clarity

Cologne Faride Alidou climbs the highest and scores his team’s second goal against Borussia Mönchengladbach, but the visitors had to settle for a 3-3 draw.Photo: Federico Gambarini/AP

“In our situation,” said Faride Alidou from Cologne, “you have to take every point.” Qualification was coming up. “Even if,” he said, “we are not satisfied.” It was understandable. On another day, the attacking midfielder, who grew in stature and confidence under new(ish) coach Timo Schultz, could have been the derby hero for Borussia Mönchengladbach, twice putting his team ahead with emphatic finishes following deliveries from his captain, Florian Kainz.

In the end, he didn’t even get close because so much happened in what Kainz described as a “totally wild game.” Even someone as even-tempered as the captain struggled to find the words or, it seemed, the thoughts to frame it accurately. “We have to analyze this carefully,” he said after the 3-3 draw. “But so soon after the game it’s still hard to say.”

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This should have been Robin Hack’s game. He came on as a substitute for Manu Koné in the 70th minute with his team trailing 2–1. His first touch, 47 seconds later, was a header into the far corner after a cross from Stefan Lainer. It was the first of two Hack goals in 132 seconds that turned the derby around. “It was great,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve ever celebrated so emotionally.”

However, it wasn’t a complete stop on a bustling afternoon. That was provided by Damion Downs, the 19-year-old substitute from Köln, who took his time to impress after being on the pitch for four minutes before scoring, earning a valuable point for the struggling visitors with a precise finishing in the far corner. It was celebrated with a similar abandon to Hack’s second goal and was Downs’ first goal for the first team, as well as the first time a Köln substitute has scored this season.

So despite Hack being agonizingly close to completing what would have been a sensational hat-trick in stoppage time, ultimately there is an apostrophe where a period should have been. Had they maintained the lead given to them by their super sub, Gladbach would be twelve points clear of Köln and the spot in the relegation play-off, effectively ending relegation worries in this transitional season and pushing their big rivals further would be in danger. Instead, they still have the nightmare scenario in the back of their minds, just as Köln’s dreams of gaining momentum for their hoped-for grand escape will have to wait. For now, the play-off spot and a second chance in May are all Effzeh can hope for.

The story continues

There was a pervasive feeling of not knowing what to feel, because nothing about this game really made sense. In two games against Gladbach, Köln scored six times, after scoring only thirteen goals in the other 23 Bundesliga games. It’s not quite that we can play you territory every week – the heart certainly wouldn’t bear it – but it shows that what Effzeh believes to be their true selves has emerged in these two incident-filled matches – led by two different coaches – against their historical enemies.

The current incumbent is too circumspect to talk about turning points, but Schulz was encouraged. “You can gain self-confidence during training, but also in competitions that were less successful [as this one]” he said. “Despite being outplayed, we created three or four big chances against Leverkusen last week. We have built on that. We have potential.”

Although Alidou’s influence is growing, he will need help. Downs’ goal was crucial, but he has played less than 45 minutes in the first team and his crucial cameo was far from expected. The return of Davie Selke, still the team’s top scorer after almost two months of injury, could be just as important in the coming weeks.

Despite all their own gremlins, Gladbach could take a moment to look across the chasm and breathe a sigh of relief. Gerardo Seaone’s side could have been in big trouble after last summer’s exodus, with the likes of Jonas Hofmann, Marcus Thuram and Lars Stindl leaving. Few would have been surprised to see that their goals-for column resembled Köln’s. But despite a difficult debut season for their biggest summer signing Tomas Cvancara, who was absent here, Gladbach have scored 45 goals, making them the highest scorers outside the top five with a plethora of players helping out – in a way that Köln could use . that as a template. Alessane Pléa was missing on Saturday but Hack, who was given another chance at the top flight in his mid-20s after false starts with Hoffenheim and Arminia Bielefeld, stepped up while wide man Franck Honorat, arguably the team’s player of the season in his debut campaign, He scored the first equalizer from his usual spot on the right.

They still have a chance to end the season on a high, with a postponed DfB Pokal quarter-final in Saarbrücken to be played on Tuesday, before a possible last four trip to second-tier Kaiserslautern – and even a final against Leverkusen, the high rollers whose derbies aren’t nearly as intense as the ones they just played. Cologne, meanwhile, will aim to satisfy themselves with redemption and whatever happens, the aftershocks of this Saturday will reverberate for some time.

Discussion points

• For the second time this season, Leverkusen made Thursday evening’s return trip to Azerbaijan easy by beating Wolfsburg – who had Moritz Jenz sent off before the half-hour mark – 2-0 on Sunday to restore the 10 tie. point ahead of the top. Their composure is extraordinary, as Lukas Hradecky underlined afterwards when he suggested: “Probably half of us don’t even know what Bayern’s result was. Nobody cares about what happens in the other games.”

• Bayern had a very good week after the Champions League sidelined Lazio with an 8-1 defeat to Mainz, with more records falling for Harry Kane. He became the first player to score four hat-tricks in a debut Bundesliga season. “He proves week after week that it was the right decision to bring him here,” said Thomas Tuchel.

• Good news from another Englishman as well: Jadon Sancho’s first Borussia Dortmund goal in 1,031 days proved to be their winner over Werder Bremen – despite a comeback from the home side following Marcel Sabitzer’s red card on the stroke of half-time. It was a smart run and finish too, although an introspective Sancho told the club’s official channels that he was disappointed with his performance and vowed to aim for the level he reached in his first spell at the club. The win retained fourth place despite RB Leipzig’s 2-0 win over Darmstadt.

• No worries for VfB Stuttgart, still six points ahead of Dortmund after a 2-0 win over Union Berlin at the end of a great week for the club. Bayern’s Sebastian Hoeness signed a contract extension until 2027, and such is the growing confidence that sporting director Fabian Wohlgemuth is speaking openly about how they can spend any windfall from the Champions League on keeping the team together. “We will do everything humanly possible to preserve it [top scorer Serhou Guirassy] with us,” he told Das Aktuelle Sportstudio, while also expressing his hope of keeping hold of Deniz Undav and goalkeeper Alexander Nübel, on loan from Brighton and Bayern respectively.

Bundesliga results

VfB Stuttgart 2-0 Union Berlin, Bayern Munich 8-1 Mainz, Leipzig 2-0 Darmstadt, Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-3 Cologne, Augsburg 1-0 Heidenheim, Werder Bremen 1-2 Borussia Dortmund, Bochum 1-2 Freiburg, Eintracht Frankfurt 3-1 Hoffenheim, Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 Wolfsburg