Cologne star on HSV win: "We were the better side" – true? | OneFootball

HSV secured their first win of the season against 1. FC Köln. From Said El Mala’s perspective, however, the result only partly reflected the course of the game.

“It really hurt not to win or at least take a point,” El Mala said after the match on Radio Köln. His assessment was clear: “We were the more dominant team and were punished by cheap goals conceded.”

A look at the numbers does in fact support that view. Especially in the first half, the visitors had more of the game for long stretches. Until HSV took the lead shortly before the break, Köln were clearly the team setting the tone. Over the full 90 minutes, the Rhineland side also had significantly more possession, with 68 percent.

However, that visual superiority only rarely turned into clear dominance from Köln. Both teams had three big chances, and HSV even finished slightly ahead on expected goals. Köln may have had more shots overall, but Hamburg got more of their attempts on target.

Photo: IMAGO

HSV defense impresses against El Mala

El Mala himself was only partly convincing at the Volkspark. The 20-year-old did record four shots, 63 touches, and a pass completion rate of 85 percent. In direct duels, however, he had major problems: he won only 24 percent of his challenges, and just 27 percent of his dribbles were successful. Nicolás Capaldo and, above all, the impressive right-back Zakaria El Ouahdi kept the Köln player under control.

El Mala himself acknowledged one point: “We have to blame ourselves for not scoring the goals.” That was ultimately the decisive difference. Köln had more of the ball and, at times, more control, but HSV were more clinical in front of goal.

So El Mala’s statement is not wrong. As a description, though, it falls a little short. Still, it is true: given the run of play, HSV could hardly have complained about sharing the points.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.