The German football league kicked off its second round with a bang. Cologne emerged as a major story, joining the top ranks after a strong performance at home. They crushed Freiburg with a 4-1 victory. This win puts them right up there with giants like Bayern Munich and Eintracht Frankfurt.
Cologne didn’t waste much time getting ahead. Polish midfielder Jakub Kaminski scored the first goal in the 35th minute of the first half. After the break, Marius Bulter added to their lead in the 47th minute. Jan Thielmann followed with another goal in the 56th minute. Said El Mala wrapped things up for Cologne in the 81st minute. Freiburg managed to get one back through Maximilian Eggestein in the 84th minute, but it was too little, too late. This win marked Cologne’s second straight victory, making them one of the few teams with a perfect record.
This means Cologne, Bayern Munich, and Eintracht Frankfurt are the only teams to have won both of their opening matches. They are tied at the very top of the league table. Now, the league takes a short break for international matches, giving everyone a chance to catch their breath.
Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund finally got their first win of the season. They beat Union Berlin 3-0 on their home turf. Portuguese forward Fábio Silva was still missing for Dortmund. Union Berlin also played without Diogo Leite. Serhou Guirassy was the star of the show for Dortmund, scoring the first two goals in the 44th and 58th minutes. Felix Nmecha sealed the deal with the third goal in the 81st minute. Dortmund now sits in fourth place with four points, just two points behind the leading trio. Union Berlin, on the other hand, suffered their first defeat and are now in 10th place with three points.
Wolfsburg had a chance to join the top teams as well. However, they ended up with a 1-1 draw at home against Mainz. This result gave Mainz their first point of the season. Wolfsburg took an early lead, with Aaron Zehnter scoring in just the ninth minute.
Mainz fought back and earned a penalty kick in the 89th minute. Nadiem Amiri stepped up and calmly converted it, leveling the score. The match ended dramatically when Wolfsburg’s Swedish player Mattias Svanberg received two yellow cards in quick succession, leading to his expulsion in the 90th minute plus ten minutes of added time.
