One of the worst starts in club history, or close to it
Hamburg came into this one with three defeats, 12 goals conceded and none scored. It was the third-worst start ever recorded in the Bundesliga. The crowd at the Volksparkstadion wanted a response.
They waited a while. Cologne controlled the ball, dictated the tempo and landed the first shots on target. Luka Lochoshvili saw his header from a corner deflected wide. Capaldo had to throw himself in the way to stop Thijs Dallinga from getting a strike off inside the box. Mikey Moore forced Daniel Heuer Fernandes into a save from a curling effort. Said El Mala came within inches of meeting a perfect cross at the back post. The Hamburg keeper then tipped away a fierce El Mala drive before beating out a close-range header from Dallinga.
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Capaldo and Poulsen turn the script
Just before the break, Nicolas Capaldo rose highest at a corner and headed Hamburg in front against the run of play. It was only Hamburg’s 13th home goal in 2026.
Mikey Moore should have equalised straight after the restart. He blasted a loose ball over from point-blank range. Moments later, Yussuf Poulsen, on at half-time, met an inswinging cross from Albert Gronbaek to make it 2-0. El Mala answered with a low drive that Heuer Fernandes again kept out. Poulsen almost added a third on the break.
Ragnar Ache pulled one back in the 90th minute with a well-placed header at the end of a good move. Too little, too late.
Two wins in 18, and Cologne are not travelling well
Cologne’s stats make grim reading. Two wins from their last 18 league games, seven draws and nine defeats. No win in their last 15 away matches, the longest such run in the German top flight. And just one victory in their last nine games against a side that started the day bottom.
Hamburg, meanwhile, are out of the drop zone. The club have now lost only two of their last 12 meetings with Cologne, winning eight and drawing two. Capaldo took the man of the match award, which tells you where the afternoon turned.
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