1. FC Köln came from behind to secure a 2-1 victory against Borussia Mönchengladbach in the Rhine Derby on Saturday. Gladbach captain Lars Stindl put the visitors in front (32’), but FC struck back through Anthony Modeste (60’) and Marcel Risse (90’) to secure the stunning road victory.

Thomas Kessler took the position in goal for FC following the knee injury to Timo Horn. The rest of the line up was unchanged from the match in Frankfurt.

Superior hosts

Just 5 minutes into the match the hosts broke through on goal and tested Thomas Kessler in the FC goal. The 1. FC Köln custodian displayed tremendous reflexes to tip the shot from Hazard over the goal. The rest of the first half continued to be dominated by the hosts, who broke down the FC defense countless times. The breakthrough came in the 32nd minute when Ibrahima Traore found Lars Stindl in the box, who put a first-time shot past Kessler. Gladbach continued to dominate until the end of the half and should have struck again, but FC defended with passion to deny the lively hosts.

Modeste strikes again

The second half began with Artjoms Rudnevs taking the place of Matthias Lehmann, who picked up a knee injury in the first half. Jonas Hector took over duties as captain. FC looked like a completely different side in the first ten minutes of the second half, as Osako shot on goal, Rudnevs tested Yann Sommer, and Mavraj also put a shot on the Borussia goal. The equalizer came in the 60th minute when Dominique Heintz put a cross into the box from the left side. The ball ended up on the head of Anthony Modeste, who picked up his 12th Bundesliga goal of the running season.

Risse with a screamer

The next 30 minutes saw chances on both sides with both teams looking to pick up the three points. Peter Stöger opted to bring on 18-year-old Salih Özcan for Yuya Osako (72’). Thomas Kessler was once again in the middle of the action when he denied Fabian Johnson with a brilliant save to keep the match tied (78’). Just when it seemed the match would end in draw, Marcel Risse struck an absolutely brilliant indirect free kick from outside the box and put it into the top corner past the helpless Borussia keeper. The goal secured a stunning comeback victory for FC and an important three points in the Rhine Derby against the bitter rivals.

Match Details

1. FC Köln: Kessler – Sörensen, Mavraj, Heintz, Hector – Risse (90' Olkowski), Lehmann (46' Rudnevs), Höger, Rausch – Osako (72' Özcan), Modeste

Borussia Mönchengladbach: Sommer – Elvedi, Christensen, Vestergaard – Traore (75' Johnson), Strobl, Stindl, Dahoud (89' Jantschke), Wendt – Hazard (72' Hahn), Raffael

Goals: 1-0 Stindl (32'), 1-1 Modeste (60') 1-2 Risse (90')

Yellow Cards: Sörensen, Heintz, Lehmann, Rudnevs, Hector - Strobl

Referee: Manuel Gräfe

Attendance: 53,757