René Wagner’s Köln fight back for a point in Frankfurt | OneFootball

Michael Zetterer was forced to a double save to deny Jakub Kamiński and Ragnar Ache in the first minute of the game, but that was the only notable action until Ritsu Doan’s harmless shot at the other end in the 16th minute.

Ansgar Knauff and Said El Mala had the first big chances in the next ten minutes, although both efforts slightly missed their targets. Marvin Schwäbe’s first save of the game then came from Arnaud Kalimuendo’s effort following a counterattack initiated by the industrious Oscar Højlund.At the other end, El Mala set up Kamiński’s chance on a quick break, but the Polish international’s poor first touch gave Zetterer the chance to close down the space. It was Frankfurt’s turn to start the second-half strongly, but the visitors stuck to their guns at the back.

Following a frenetic encounter in Lukas Kwasniok’s last game against Gladbach, René Wagner opted for a cautious approach in his first-ever match as a head coach. However, they were torn apart twenty minutes after the restart.

Farès Chaïbi, who came on as part of Albert Riera’s double substitution, made a surging run in the right side before squaring it up for Johnatan Burkardt. The ex-Mainz striker had the easiest task to tap in his tenth goal of the season before providing the cross for Frankfurt’s second goal three minutes later.

Kalimuendo finished off the move with a first-time hit after fellow January signing Ayoube Amaimouni-Echghouyab brought down Burkardt’s delivery. The frantic nature of the game suddenly showed no signs of slowing down as Kamiński finally succeeded in beating Zetterer with a big deflection from Hugo Larsson.

It was nearly four goals in five minutes when Kamiński’s next effort was blocked by Frankfurt’s shot-stopper. Zetterer had one of his best games in goal as he thwarted El Mala ten minutes from time with another solid stop.

However, the visitors deservedly tied the game with Luca Waldschmidt, Marius Bülter, and Alessio Castro-Montes combined for a straightforward goal barely seconds after coming on as substitutes.

Younes Ebnoutalib, who entered the game at the same time as Köln’s triple substitution, had a great chance to win it for the hosts, but his effort from close range failed to hit the target. Both teams end the matchday where they started after an entertaining second-half exchange.

Köln face direct rivals Werder Bremen and St. Pauli in their next two games, while Frankfurt will be on the road next week to face another relegation-threatened side in the form of a trip to Wolfsburg.