Bayer Leverkusen Grab Difficult Away Derby Win against Köln

Match Overview

Bayer Leverkusen pressed early on and had a chance in the third minute as Jonas Hofmann put the ball just wide.

In the 11th minute, Köln's Dejan Ljubicic had a good chance with an unmarked header in the box but was unable to guide it in the goal.

In the 14th minute, Jan Thielmann was given a red card after much deliberation as referee Tobias Stieler gives the young German this decision following an on-field VAR review.

If someone were to have tuned into the Bundesliga game in late January versus VfL Wolfsburg, they might have thought that a fan was allowed to officiate once again after that decision against Köln and Thielmann.

During the 30th minute, Köln received another yellow card as Eric Martel became the third booked player for the Billy Goats in this fiesty fixture. This challenge looked a lot worse than Jan Thielmann's red card tackle.

Jeremie Frimpong broke the deadlock as Patrick Schick scuffs a ball into his path for a comfortable finish in the 38th minute.

At half-time, Xabi Alonso took off Jeremie Frimpong for the youngster Nathan Tella as Frimpong was on a yellow card and was somewhat lucky to remain on the pitch as he was at grave risk of receiving a red card.

In the 50th minute, 1. FC Köln's best chance of the game came in the form of a Sargis Adamyan acrobatic attempt which (unfortunately for the home side) hit the post despite leaving Lukas Hradecky helpless.

During the 69th minute, a heartbreaking moment happened for Köln as Justin Diehl was forced off the pitch with injury.

He was consoled by teammate Faride Alidou as he was visibly upset after only having come on five minutes earlier.

Alejandro Grimaldo got Leverkusen's second goal through some fortune as it takes a touch of Julian Chabot before making its way past Marvin Schwäbe.

Not much happened for the rest of the tie apart from a triple substitution from Timo Schultz as he brought on Benno Schmitz, Steffen Tigges and Denis Huseinbašić for Eric Martel, Faride Alidou and Linton Maina.

Overall, Bayer Leverkusen made this tie a lot harder than it needed to be and could have been in a lot of trouble had the game been eleven versus eleven for longer.

Man of the match

Bayer Leverkusen- Alejandro Grimaldo

Perhaps not his best performance this season, however it was one of his most important outings. A tough Köln side proved difficult to break down for Bayer 04 and it was Grimaldo that was able to do this most effectively. Add a goal into the mix, and this turns into a man of the match performance.

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