Leverkusen Edge Köln in Rhine Derby as Schick Strikes Late

Bayer Leverkusen left the RheinEnergieSTADION with a 2-1 win over 1. FC Köln, but the scoreline only hints at the contest's shifting shape. Aleix García's seventh-minute free-kick and Patrik Schick's 85th-minute finish put the visitors two up, before Saïd El Mala's stoppage-time reply set up a frantic final few minutes. Leverkusen controlled possession 62 per cent to Köln's 38, yet the hosts generated 1.55 expected goals to Leverkusen's 1.73 — a near-even split that reflects how the game tightened after the break.

Köln lined up in a 3-5-2, three centre-backs and five across midfield, with two forwards looking to spring on transitions. Leverkusen's 4-2-3-1 sought to pull that block apart, but the early breakthrough came from a dead ball. Aleix García's direct free-kick, worth just 0.08 xG, found the corner after seven minutes. It was Leverkusen's only set-play goal of the match, but it set the tone: the visitors would finish with 0.99 xG from set pieces, compared to Köln's 0.14.

Köln's shape did not collapse. The back three of Jarell Quansah, Edmond Tapsoba and Facundo Medina held firm for long stretches, and the midfield five squeezed the space between the lines. Leverkusen's players struggled to find room: Afonso Moreira was dispossessed twice, completed 85.3 per cent of his passes and managed 56 touches; Quansah, despite a 97 per cent pass accuracy and 94 touches, was repeatedly forced sideways; Tapsoba and Medina each recorded zero dispossessions but were pinned back by Köln's compactness. Patrik Schick, isolated for much of the first hour, had only 33 touches and a 75 per cent pass accuracy, yet his rating of 7.8 reflected the decisive moment he still produced.

Leverkusen's open-play threat was limited to 0.74 xG across the 90 minutes, while Köln generated 1.40 from open play. The hosts' best chances came through quick transitions, with Sebastian Sebulonsen (0.21 xG) and Ibrahim Maza (0.08 xG) probing. But Leverkusen's defensive structure, anchored by Quansah's calm distribution, kept the door mostly shut until the late drama.

The second half followed a similar pattern: Leverkusen saw more of the ball (59 per cent possession after the break) but Köln's 3-5-2 continued to frustrate. The hosts actually out-shot Leverkusen 4-3 on target in the second period, and their 0.81 xG after half-time was higher than Leverkusen's 0.61. The game seemed to be drifting toward a narrow away win when Schick struck in the 85th minute. Ibrahim Maza's assist found the Czech forward, whose left-footed finish from 0.31 xG gave Leverkusen breathing room.

That breathing room lasted only five minutes. Saïd El Mala, who had been a lively presence, pulled one back in the 90th minute from a 0.55 xG chance, assisted by his brother Malek El Mala. It was Köln's fourth big chance of the match, compared to Leverkusen's three, and it set up a tense finale. Leverkusen's 6-5 yellow-card advantage — 11 bookings in total — underlined the derby's edge.

Leverkusen's 14 shots to Köln's 12, and 8 on target to 6, reflect a game of fine margins. The visitors' 33 touches in the box to Köln's 24 and their 6 corners to 2 show they spent more time in dangerous areas, but Köln's 1.55 xG was built on higher-quality openings. The 3-5-2 block, marshalled by Quansah and Medina, limited Leverkusen's open-play creativity to 0.74 xG — their lowest such figure in recent weeks. Yet set pieces and a moment of individual quality from Schick proved the difference.

Rene Wagner's Köln side will take encouragement from a performance that restricted Leverkusen to 1.73 xG and produced four big chances of their own. Carles Martínez's Leverkusen, meanwhile, will note that they won without ever fully controlling the game. The three goals came in a 83-minute span, with two in the final five minutes of normal time, and the result leaves Leverkusen with the points but Köln with the sense of a missed opportunity.