Nicolás Capaldo’s first-half header and a neat Yussuf Poulsen finish gave Hamburg a morale-boosting victory over Cologne, with Ragnar Ache’s late header nothing more than a consolation.
Hamburg 2-1 Cologne
Goals: 1-0 Capaldo 44′ (assist: Grønbæk), 2-0 Poulsen 50′ (assist: Grønbæk), 2-1 Ache 90’ (assist: Skhiri)
Hamburg entered the match having lost all three of their opening Bundesliga fixtures without scoring a goal, while Cologne had managed a win, draw and a loss from their opening fixtures.
Head coach Merlin Polzin made three changes to his starting XI, with the big news being that Fábio Vieira was back in the team after injury.
Cologne boss René Wagner was also able to make an important change of his own as Saïd El Mala returned to his line-up in place of Marius Bülter.
Saïd El Mala was back in the Cologne starting XI at the Volksparkstadion. – IMAGO/Eibner-Pressefoto/Marcel von Fehrn
Capaldo header stuns Cologne
Cologne dominated possession from the outset and created the first sight of goal through Thijs Dallinga, whose effort from a tight angle struck the side netting.
Mikey Moore and El Mala then forced Daniel Heuer Fernandes into good saves from range, before Dallinga squandered a great headed chance by placing his effort too close to the Hamburg goalkeeper, allowing him the time to react and make a superb save.
Hamburg delivered a suckerpunch just before the interval as Albert Grønbæk’s corner from the left found Capaldo completely unmarked at the back post, and the Argentine headed home to send Hamburg in front at the interval.
Nicolás Capaldo’s header flew past Marvin Schwäbe and into the net to put Hamburg 1-0 up against the run of play. – IMAGE/Oliver Ruhnke
Poulsen doubles lead, Ache nets consolation
Moore blazed over from an excellent position just after the interval, before Hamburg struck on the break once more as Grønbæk sent in a perfect cross for substitute Poulsen to fire home in the centre.
El Mala almost pulled a goal back immediately, but Heuer Fernandes did well once again to keep out the visitors. Hamburg then took the ascendancy for the first time in the match as they went in search of a third, with Nicolai Remberg, Vieira and Poulsen all going close.
Cologne regained control of the ball late on as Luka Lochoshvili prodded El Mala’s initial shot onto the post, before substitute Ache finally pulled a goal back with a header from Ellyes Skhiri’s delivery – but it was too little, too late.
Substitute Yussuf Poulsen grabbed the all-important second goal that helped seal Hamburg’s first points of the season. – IMAGO/Eibner-Pressefoto/Marcel von Fehrn
Man of the Match: Nicolás Capaldo
Capaldo scored Hamburg’s opener with a close-range header from Grønbæk’s corner and also made a vital tackle to deny Dallinga in the box.
The Argentine topped the game’s fantasy-manager rankings, underlining his influence at both ends of the pitch.
Capaldo was named Man of the Match for his fine display. – IMAGO/Fernando Soares
Bundesliga Match Facts
xGoals: Hamburg 1.58 – Cologne 1.77
Fastest player: Linton Maina (Cologne), 34.72 km/h
Lowest goal probability: 1-0 by Nicolás Capaldo (Hamburg), 30 percent
Pass efficiency: Linton Maina (Cologne), +2.05
Fantasy Heroes: Nicolás Capaldo (Hamburg, 225 Points), Yussuf Poulsen (Hamburg, 206 Points), Ragnar Ache (Cologne, 183 Points)