In a breathless first half that saw six goals shared between the two sides, it was Koln who were the happier of the two sides at the break. Racing to a five-goal advantage inside 35 minutes, the onslaught began when Linton Maina finished off a blistering counter-attack, before Steffen Tigges doubled Koln’s advantage moments later with a composed finish inside the penalty area. Werder only had themselves to blame, with mistakes presenting Koln with two early goals and their woes would be worsened midway through the half when Tigges lobbed goalkeeper Jiří Pavlenka from the halfway line.
While the 30-year-old shot-stopper may have rushed off his line leaving an empty net for Tigges to aim at for Koln’s third, the hosts’ fourth arrived from close-range, with Ellyes Skhiri beating the offside trap to score from four yards out. A catastrophic first half worsened before it got marginally better for Werder, with Denis Huseinbašić tapping home after goalkeeper Pavlenka once again went walkabouts.
Niclas Füllkrug was able to deliver a first-half consolation, not that it counted for much, just before the break. Probably the most conventional goal of a crazy evening in North Rhine-Westphalia, the Germany international squeezed a header beyond Koln goalkeeper Marvin Schwäbe,
The start of a famous comeback? Not so much. Koln needed just 10 second-half minutes to restore their five-goal advantage - Skhiri converting Linton Maina’s back-post cross with a stylish bicycle kick. Six would become seven halfway through the second period, with the hosts once again benefitting from a touch of fortune, as defender Marco Friedl’s mistimed clearance sent the ball flying into his own net.
A truly dismal evening for Werder, who last won away to Koln just under two decades ago. Despite their emphatic victory, the threat of the drop still looms over the Billy Goats, with manager Baumgart no doubt all too aware of what lies ahead, having suffered relegation to 2. Bundesliga with former club SC Paderborn 07.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Ellyes Skhiri (FC Koln)
