Koln set up in a 4-2-3-1, creating a handful of chances but only one conrete chance which came from a set piece. They weren’t clinical or creative enough and were unable to score, losing 1-0 to a goal in the 78th minute from a tight angle that Timo Horn maybe should have done better to save. It was Arminia’s only shot inside the box the whole game. It was a fairly slow paced game which was quite direct at times and both teams lacked the attacking quality to really get anything going.
Ratings:
- A1 – Very good, could play higher
- A2 – Strong potential to play higher
- B1 – Good, strong player at level
- B2 – Potential to be strong player at level
- C – Average for the level, re-watch
- D – Below average in this match
Sebastiaan Bornauw
Player profile:
- Nationality: Belgian
- Age: 21
- Date of birth: 22/03/1999
- Current Club: FC Koln
- Career: RSC Anderlecht (Y), FC Koln
- Position: Central Back
- Secondary position: Right Back
- Preferred foot: Right
Bornauw played as the right sided centre back. He stands at 6’3″ with a broad frame and was an imposing, physical defender throughout this game. He was strong and aggressive without being over the top and was controlled in his actions. He got tight to his man, using his body well and was clever to impose himself just enough without fouling. He defended well into the back of attackers and made it hard to receive or turn.
He didn’t tend to press out of the line much and wasn’t that quick off the mark, he lacked agility and explosiveness to fire out effectively. He covered across a few times when needed and did fairly well. He was strong in the air and was well positioned into the box to stop balls into the box and scanned fairly well.
In the buildup he was used a lot with a lot of play going down the right side. His passes were hit with good power and speed, mostly playing simple passes into midfield or along the line, not trying anything very expansive but was fairly solid, although he passes could have been smoother it didn’t cause any problems. He played a few clipped long balls into the forwards but they came with mixed accuracy and success.
Rating – B1
Elvis Rexhbecaj
Player profile:
- Nationality: German
- Age: 22
- Date of birth: 01/11/1997
- Current Club: FC Koln, on loan from VfL Wolfsburg
- Career: VfL Wolfsburg, FC Koln (L)
- Position: Centre Midfield
- Secondary Position: Attacking Midfield
- Preferred foot: Left
Rexhbecaj started as the right winger, moving to the left in the second half and ending the game playing as the 10 which showed his versatility. When on the right he mostly had a very narrow position, taking up half space positions and creating space for the right back to push up into. However he struggled under pressure and wasn’t strong enough on the ball, he wanted to play fairly directly but his passing wasn’t coming off and failed to make an impact.
He worked hard on and off the ball, covering a lot of ground, trying to show for the ball but struggled to receive at times. Playing on the left side he had more freedom to roam and find space, still playing fairly narrowly at times and making underlapping runs through the half spaces. He made a few okay crosses into the box as well as some decent corner deliveries but wasn’t able to create much. As the 10 he dropped into some good spaces and played some good forward passes and was better when he could receive in space and face goal, however some passes lacked weight and were sloppy.
Overall, Rexhbejac was okay but failed to impact the game. He’s still fairly raw at 22 and wasn’t the most athletic or physical. He worked hard and played roles he’s not used to but ultimately struggled in higher areas.
Rating – C
Jan Thielmann
Player profile:
- Nationality: German
- Age: 18
- Date of birth: 26/05/2002
- Current Club: FC Koln
- Career: SV Hetzerath (Y), SV Eintracht Trier 05 Jugend (Y), FC Koln
- Position: Left Wing
- Preferred foot: Right
Thielmann is a young, raw player who struggled to show much in this game. He’s 5’10 with a slim build and lacked physicality, getting beaten too easily in the challenge. Starting on the left wing, he maintained a wide position but his decision making was slow at times and didn’t really try much. He didn’t show much pace and on the counter he didn’t drive at the defence and slowed the attack and lacked vision. A lot of his passes and touches could have been a lot cleaner and wasn’t confident to take on his man 1v1. Tried a few passes and crosses into the box but lacked quality and decision making.
Defensively he lacked intensity and didn’t do much out of possession. Before being taken off in the 62nd minute, Thielmann failed to really impact the game and was sloppy on the ball and lacked flair or athleticism you want to see from a young winger and just failed to show much, not taking that many touches before being taken off and needed to be more direct and involved.
Rating – D
Jannes Horn
Player profile:
- Nationality: German
- Age: 23
- Date of birth: 06/02/1997
- Current Club: FC Koln
- Career: VfL Wolfsburg, FC Koln, Hannover (L)
- Position: Left Back
- Preferred foot: Left
Playing as the left back in the 4-2-3-1, Horn didn’t have a great game. He started well with some good actions on and off the ball but overall lacked technical or athletic ability. He read the game well in defence and make some good sliding challenges to stop crosses and shots when 1v1 on the recovery but when the attacker was able to run at him he lacked agility. He worked hard and was committed but just failed to really standout.
He lacked elegance on the ball and often came across as a bit clumsy. He could carry the ball into space unopposed but wasn’t very smooth and then under pressure lost it. He didn’t receive the ball very well and wasn’t very effective in the buildup, other than a few okay inside passes. He struggled to get into dangerous attacking positions. Overall a fairly disappointing performance but could be worth watching again.
Rating – D
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