Bundesliga relegation play-off: FC Köln thrash Holstein Kiel to stay up
By Tushar Bahl
FC Köln will be staying in the Bundesliga next season after bulldozing their way past Holstein Kiel in the second leg of their relegation play-off.
Needing to overturn a 1-0 deficit to avoid relegation from the Bundesliga, Köln made an excellent start to the second leg and took the lead after just three minutes. Jonas Hector opened the scoring with a fine header. The Billy Goats’ advantage was short-lived though, as Holstein Kiel went down the other end and equalised just moments later through Lee Jae-sung.
But Sebastian Andersson put Köln back in front after just six minutes, capitalising on some poor defending from the 2. Bundesliga side. More shambolic defending allowed the former Union Berlin striker to add a second and put Köln 3-2 up on aggregate in the 13th minute.
Rafael Czichos then all but ensured Köln’s survival on the stroke of half time by finding the net with a thunderous strike from the edge of the box.
Köln kept creating chances in the second half, but they had to wait until the 84th minute to get their fifth. It was Ellyes Skhiri who added the icing on the cake to secure another season in the Bundesliga for the Billy Goats.
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The defeat meant heartbreak for Holstein Kiel, who had looked set for promotion before two COVID-19 enforced breaks derailed their campaign. The Storks also managed to reach the semi-finals of the DFB-Pokal, defeating Bayern Munich in the process. But now they will have to start all over again in their bid to reach the top-flight.