Gisdol rolls the dice as Köln kickstart survival bid with derby win


Manager trusted his youngsters and showed he may be more tactically astute than many believe in win over Leverkusen

Fortune favours the brave, they say. Maybe FC Köln had little option this weekend after six matches without a win, leaving them stuck in the relegation mud. In a city where the fortunes of Effzeh are felt so intensely, it hasn’t just been the shortcomings but the mood. After sweeping to the 2. Bundesliga title last season on the back of 84 goals scored, the 12 in 14 scored before this weekend meant that all the air had seeped out of the club’s post-promotion bounce. Something had to change.

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Hoffenheim 2-4 Augsburg, Fortuna Düsseldorf 0-3 Leipzig, Paderborn 1-1 Union Berlin, Mainz 0-4 Borussia Dortmund, Hertha Berlin 1-0 Freiburg, Köln 2-0 Leverkusen, Bayern Munich 6-1 Werder Bremen, Schalke 1-0 Eintracht Frankfurt, Wolfsburg 2-1 Mönchengladbach

Philippe Coutinho is a baller!

He hit an outrageous hattrick that gets better with every goal! pic.twitter.com/SrAmaWuTmz

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