This match ended 1-1, getting Koln their 3rd point of the season but are still without a win in 7 games and are 16th in the table. Bremen dominated possession but neither side were able to create good chances with Bremen relying on a penalty for their late equaliser. It was a poor quality quite low tempo game which lacked quality. Koln set up in a 4-1-4-1 but struggled to create anything on the counter or get on the end of crosses.
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, rewatch
- 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 centre half in the Koln back four. In possession he had smooth passing but his passes lacked weight at times and could have been more driven. He open up well when he received the ball, taking okay touches onto his right foot. He struggled to progress the ball though into midfield and didn’t try to go long much and also didn’t face much pressure.
The Belgian stands at 6’3″ with a strong build and showed good physicality in his challenges. He was strong in the air, showing good strength and decent leap as well as good positioning. Other than one time he showed poor communication and headed away a ball a teammate had covered. He also got good distance on his headed clearances and made a good block on the edge of the box. He did however give away the penalty with an unfortunate handball.
He was reluctant to step up and didn’t press out of the line, he did however defend on the recovery well. He clocked the 3rd quickest speed on the pitch at 33.1 kmph, he showed very good speed over distance and was a powerful runner, but lacked acceleration and explosiveness due to his size. Overall, he defended space and in the box well, was strong in the air and was fine in possession but wasn’t influential.
Rating – A2
Salih Ozcan
Player profile:
- Nationality: Germany
- Age: 22
- Date of birth: 11/01/1998
- Current Club: FC Koln
- Career: FC Koln, Holstein Kiel (L)
- Position: Centre Midfield
- Secondary position: Defensive Midfield
- Preferred foot: Right
Ozcan played as the defensive midfielder, covering the back four. He also dropped between the centre back at times in possession as they struggled to progress the ball. He was well positioned, making some good blocks and interceptions in deep areas. He also did well to track runners and put pressure on the ball, however he massively lacked physicality and aggression which made him a lot less effective in defence and struggled at times, needing to be stronger in challenges.
He carried the ball into space well and showed some good passing, including a great diagonal throughball through the centre back-left back channel to put the Limnios in behind. He was agile with a good change of direction with the ball and good control. He was fairly elegant on the ball, showing good vision but didn’t try to take on his player. Overall he did a good job and was a technical player that played in a deeper role than I’ve seen him player before but his lack of size and strength hindered him quite a bit at times.
Rating – B1
Noah Katterbach
Player profile:
- Nationality: Germany
- Age: 19
- Date of birth: 13/04/2001
- Current Club: FC Koln
- Career: FC Koln
- Position: Left back
- Secondary position: Left Midfield
- Preferred foot: Left
Playing at left back Katterbach had a decent game before being subbed off in the 73rd minute. He made some good forward movements, under or overlapping Jakobs. He received the ball fairly well and protected it well under pressure. He opened up and wanted to play down the line in Jakobs before making support runs forward. However he did take one heavy touch but was able to win the foul.
He had a slim build with okay pace and good acceleration and showed decent strength and gamesmanship also. He headed the ball clear well and was well positioned in deep areas, reading play well but was beaten a few times in aerial duels and needed to be stronger. He was passive 1v1 but showed decent footwork but lacked aggression to dominate duels.
Overall, Katterbach had an okay game but his inexperience and youth was obvious, it will be good to see how he develops this season with more minutes, hopefully he can become more assertive and confident and have a greater impact on the game. He was decent technically and physically but didn’t do anything to really standout or affect the game.
Rating – B2
Ismail Jakobs
Player profile:
- Nationality: Germany
- Age: 21
- Date of birth: 17/08/1999
- Current Club: FC Koln
- Career: FC Koln
- Position: Left Wing
- Secondary position: Left Back
- Preferred foot: Left
Jakobs played as the left winger but often took up narrow positions, ready to off the striker when out of possession so they could counter effectively. He roamed around the left side, often creating space on the left for Katterbach to exploit. He did work hard defensively when needed and tracked back well, but could see him struggling in the final minutes to maintain this work rate.
He got into some good crossing positions and showed some good crossing, able to curl them from deeper positions. He didn’t really try to take on his man but showed very good pace and acceleration on the counter. He didn’t get many touches of the ball and gave the ball away too much as his passing was poor, needing to improve his decision making on the day, such as floating passes to the overlapping runner instead of playing a driven pass down the line. Also he didn’t link with his full back well enough, which should improve over the season.
Rating – B2
Dimitrios Limnios
Player profile:
- Nationality: Greek
- Age: 22
- Date of birth: 27/05/1998
- Current Club: FC Koln
- Career: Atromitos Athens, PAOK Salonika, FC Koln
- Position: Right Wing
- Preferred foot: Right
Limnios played on the right wing before being subbed off in the 64th minute. This was his second Bundesliga start since joining from PAOK in Greece in summer. This game suggested he’s going to need some time to adapt to the league, he struggled with the intensity, pressure and physicality at times. He played at a bit of a low tempo and wanted to try to beat his man, showing good control and decent pace but lost the ball quite a bit or was forced to pass backwards.
He wasn’t physical enough against defenders and didn’t show great reactions 1v1. He carried into space and provided good width with some good runs into space but lacked quality in the final third. He’s quite raw and will need time to adapt. He was also was weak defensively and needs to up his intensity and out of possession work rate to match the rest of the side.
Rating – D