Koln Hold On To Said El Mala's Goal To Beat Hoffenheim

 

FC Koln secured a hard-fought victory to regain winning ways and bounced back to the front row of the Bundesliga in fourth position after defeating Hoffenheim at home by 1-0. 

Coming out of a back-to-back winless run, Koln put up resistance against their hosts to regain winning ways. That paid off with the opening goal, and a penalty that could have leveled the scoreline for Hoffenheim in the first half was overturned. 

Said El Mala scored the winning goal for Koln in a moment of individual brilliance in the 16th minute.  Mala received a pass from Martel in the midfield and dazzled past three defenders before guiding a shot through Oliver Baumann's legs. 

The visitors held on to the lead, which turned out to be the only goal of the game, delivering to Koln their first victory in the past three games in the Bundesliga. Hoffenheim have now remained winless in three consecutive games and a back-to-back home game in the Bundesliga. 

Overview 

Hoffenheim stood the better chance to lead from the first half before Said El Mala barrelled through and cracked home the winning goal. The midfielder also forced a save from Oliver Baumann,  amongst other attempts at the goal. Bazoumana Toure and Fisnik Asllani stood out for the hosts, with a close-range chance that Toure was unable to finish off. 

Koln retracted to defending the lead in the second half. They capitalised on making fast breaks, which nearly paid off with Mala coming close to doubling the tally, but forced a save from Baumann on the hour. The midfielder was later replaced as Oln bolstered the defense to hold off Hoffenheim from making a comeback.