Union Berlin captain Rani Khedira said sorry to his own fans after his team lost 5-0 at 1. FC Köln in the second round of the German Cup on Tuesday night. Said El Mala scored twice and set up another goal, and Köln are through to the last 16 of the DFB-Pokal.
About 49,000 people watched the game at the RheinEnergieStadion. For Union, it was a long trip home.
A tight first half
For half an hour the game was even. Linton Maina hit the post for Köln, and Union had chances of their own. Michel Aebischer missed a good one, and Khedira headed a corner at goal, but Köln goalkeeper Marvin Schwäbe saved.
Köln scored in the 32nd minute. After a Union mistake Maina found El Mala, who finished past Matheo Raab. Raab kept the score at 1-0 until the break with more saves from El Mala and Marius Bülter.
El Mala took over after the break
The second half was one-way traffic. Early in the half El Mala crossed from the right and Maina slid the ball in from close range. In the 60th minute El Mala beat his defender on the right and hit a shot into the top corner. That made it 3-0.
The substitutes added two more. Ísak Jóhannesson scored after a pass from Bülter, his third goal in two cup games this season. Two minutes from the end Sebastian Sebulonsen ran in late and finished into the bottom corner after a pass from Reigan Heskey.
The home fans stood and clapped El Mala when he was taken off.
Khedira: “We can only apologise”
Khedira did not hide after the game. “After half-time we completely lost the thread,” he told reporters. “It was really a non-performance, and we can only apologise to the fans for that.”
“We have to put that behind us quickly,” he added. There is not much time. The two teams meet again on Sunday in the Bundesliga, this time at Union’s ground, the Stadion An der Alten Försterei.
Our take
This was a big night for Köln coach René Wagner. After a 0-0 draw with Schalke at the weekend, some fans whistled and called for him to go. A 5-0 win over a Bundesliga team will buy him some calm, at least for a few days.
El Mala was the difference. He was involved in three of the five goals, and Union had no answer to him once the game opened up.
Union coach Mauro Lustrinelli has a harder job now. A heavy cup defeat is bad enough. Playing the same team five days later, with the score still in everyone’s head, is a real test for a squad that fell apart in the second half.
Can Union hit back at home on Sunday, or will Köln win again? Tell us in the comments.
Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Rani Khedira by Nonametells (CC BY-SA 4.0), Rani Khedira by Steffen Prößdorf (CC BY-SA 4.0), RheinEnergieStadion by Raimond Spekking (CC BY-SA 4.0).