Aleix Garcia and Patrik Schick scored as Bayer Leverkusen secured a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Cologne in their Bundesliga derby on Sunday, climbing to fifth in the standings.
Garcia opened the scoring in the seventh minute with a superb free-kick, while Schick struck five minutes from time to seal the victory for Leverkusen in a heated encounter that saw 11 yellow cards issued.
Cologne’s Said El Mala pulled one back in stoppage time, but his late effort was insufficient to prevent the hosts from suffering defeat.
Cologne remain 15th in the table, just one point above the relegation play-off spot.
The derby, which involves two clubs separated by approximately 10 kilometres in Germany’s north-west, was marked by intense rivalry.
Leverkusen supporters taunted their opponents over the 2023-24 campaign, when Leverkusen won their first Bundesliga title while Cologne suffered relegation.
Garcia gave the visitors an early advantage with a well-placed free-kick that sailed over the defensive wall and into the top-left corner, leaving Cologne goalkeeper Marvin Schwabe with no chance.
Leverkusen nearly doubled their lead before half-time when Garcia picked out Jarell Quansah, but the England defender’s header narrowly missed the target.
Cologne struggled to break through the visitors’ defence and became increasingly frustrated, receiving five of their six yellow cards in the second half.
Schick initially thought he had scored with 10 minutes remaining, but his effort was ruled out for handball.
The Czech striker, however, made amends five minutes later by finishing a counter-attack to register his eighth league goal in nine matches this season.
El Mala’s stoppage-time strike offered Cologne a late glimmer of hope, but Leverkusen held on to claim all three points.
Elsewhere on Sunday, Freiburg could move into third place with a home victory over Union Berlin, while Hoffenheim are set to host promoted Schalke.
