In spite of an early goal by Anthony Modeste, 1. FC Köln drew 1-1 (1-1) in their home fixture against FC Ingolstadt. Former FC defender Marvin Matip equalised in an eventless match.

For the first time this season FC head coach Peter Stöger opted for a change in his back four. Right back Pawel Olkowski started from the bench and winger Marcel Risse took his place. Thus, Simon Zoller started on the wing. Moreover, Yannick Gerhardt replaced Kevin Vogt, who had picked up an injury against Berlin.

Risse finds Modeste

The match started spectacularly in front of a crowd of 47,800, of which about 1,000 were refugees that had been invited by the club. Leornardo Bittencourt nutmegged his opponent to initiate an attack, which lead to a Yuya Osako volley that was blocked by a defender. From there, FC put pressure on the FCI defence with numerous crosses and set pieces. One finally stuck when Risse swung a beautiful ball in, which in-form striker Anthony Modeste met with a towering header to mark his fifth goal of the campaign (10').

Matip levels things up

FC were in full control of the match with a stable defense and dangerous combinations in midfield. But then, Ingolstadt suddenly equalised out of the blue. A corner kick was swung into the box, which former FC defender Marvin Matip converted into the far corner (21').

Defensive guests

At the 30-minute mark the match was shaped by a very defensive away side, who were clearly looking to strike on the counter. In one such sequence they found a 3 versus 2, and Stefan Lex bent a shot on goal, only to be denied by Timo Horn. FC struggled hard to get past the stable back four so Bittencourt's shot from range was the last remarkable scene of the first half (37').

Eventless second half

Neither side created any chances on goal in the second half for quite a while. The two sides neutralised each other in midfield and were sloppy in possession. In the closing minutes Stöger brought on Dusan Svento for Bittencourt (77') and FC became more dangerous. First, Zoller was stopped in the nick of time (81'). Then Osako received the ball in the box but was denied by Özcan from a close range (82'). FC tried to go for the decider in the final minutes, but Ingolstadt were too well-organised to be beaten.

Schalke on Sunday

With this draw 1. FC Köln remain unbeaten for 14 consecutive home matches. Next week FC will travel to the Ruhr Area where they will play FC Schalke 04 on Sunday, October 4th (15:30).

1. FC Köln: Horn – Risse, Sorensen, Heintz, Hector – M. Lehmann, Gerhardt – Zoller, Osako, Bittencourt (77' Svento)– Modeste

FC Ingolstadt: Özcan – Levels, M.Matip, Hübner, Suttner – Groß, Roger, Morales – Lex (61' M. Hartmann), Hinterseer (77' Peckhart), Leckie (90' da Costa)

Goals: 1-0 Modeste (10', Risse), 1-1 M. Matip (21', Groß)

Yellow cards: Heintz (62'), M. Lehmann (85') | M. Matip (64'), Leckie (76'), Hübner (80')

Referee: Christian Dingert

Attendance: 47,800