Dortmund lose ground in title race with draw against Köln
Borussia Dortmund were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw against FC Köln, meaning that Bayern München are now six points clear at the top of the Bundesliga table.
| Erling Haaland and Mats Hummels. | Photo: Borussia Dortmund |
Norwegian goal machine Erling Haaland made his first start for Dortmund since January, having worked his way back from a muscle issue, but it was Marius Wolf, who drew first blood in the eighth minute, tucking a shot past Marvin Schwäbe after latching on to a diagonal pass from Jude Bellingham.
Köln were without several key players, including Ellyes Skhiri, Florian Kainz, Dejan Ljubicic and captain Jonas Hector, and they suffered another injury blow early in the game as Benno Schmitz was forced off with an injury and replaced by Kingsley Ehzibue.
But 'The Billy Goats' remained unfazed and created a number of opportunities before they were finally rewarded for their efforts in the 36th minute after a flick on from Anthony Modeste found Sebastian Andersson at the back post.
Haaland had a fairly quiet evening, but could have given Dortmund the lead in the 56th minute as the striker found himself through on goal, but he wasn't able to beat Schwäbe with his weaker right foot.
Later in the second half, Giovanni Reyna shrugged off a couple of challenges and bursted forward on the right, but the U.S. international took too much time, allowing Jan Thielmann to get back and block his pass.
The game ultimately ended in a draw, which means Dortmund are now six points behind league leaders Bayern München at the top of the table.