Blessin’s first game ends in 2-1 derby defeat as Köln down Mönchengladbach on 12 October 2026

Borussia Mönchengladbach lost 2-1 to Köln in a Bundesliga derby at Köln on 12 October 2026, with Saïd El Mala scoring the decisive goal; the match was Alexander Blessin’s first in charge of Gladbach.

Blessin took over a squad depleted by injuries and only met a number of key players in the days before the trip to Köln, following a three-week break for the club. His appointment comes after interim spells under Eugen Polanski and Jan-Moritz Lichte, and the new coach is attempting to instil defensive methods he described as a “frontal instruction”. Several important players were unavailable for the match, including Franck Honorat, Tim Kleindienst and Ko Itakura.

Köln’s victory hinged on moments of individual quality: Isak Johannesson produced a wonder-strike and Saïd El Mala finished the game after cutting inside from the left to curl a right-footed shot into the far corner past Moritz Nicolas. Ellyes Skhiri was carried off on a stretcher in the first half, and the home side were missing injured forwards Ragnar Ache and Thijs Dallinga, while their goat mascot Hennes IX was quarantined at the city zoo because of an avian flu outbreak. The match could have been worse for Gladbach had Köln’s injured forwards been available to add more firepower.

Saïd El Mala, who had a summer transfer to Borussia Dortmund fall through, became the first Köln player to wear the club’s No 10 shirt since Lukas Podolski and has signed a contract extension. After the game he said: “I’ve never been so fired up for a game,” and added: “I’ve had a bit of a rough patch these past few weeks.” On scoring his first goal since the opening day, El Mala noted: “What sets me apart is that I don’t give up and I keep going.” As a teenager he scored 13 times in 20 league starts last season and the article describes him as now a full Germany international embracing increased responsibility.

For Gladbach the defeat underlines longer-term problems: the club have lost players including Marcus Thuram, Jonas Hofmann and Rocco Reitz in recent years, and the report states that the club’s poor running is well documented. Blessin faces a steep task to revive an injury-hit side with fewer star names available, a difficulty compounded by Union Berlin finally picking up a win against SV Elversberg this weekend.

Elsewhere in the Bundesliga, Freiburg extended their lead at the top despite playing a portion of the second half with 10 men against Schalke, with Kaisuke Goto’s 85th-minute header following a Vincenzo Grifo cross. Matthias Ginter told DAZN: “It doesn’t feel particularly special because it’s the start of the season,” a remark made in the context of Freiburg’s performance under Julian Schuster. Dortmund conceded a late equaliser to Werder Bremen, having led 2-0 in the 88th minute, and Niclas Füllkrug scored in stoppage time for his fourth successive game, saying to Sky: “I scored for us, not against them.” Niko Kovac commented: “We have to blame ourselves,” and the match also featured a disallowed potential opening goal by Ethan Nwaneri by referee Bastian Dankert.

Bayern drew 2-2 at Augsburg after falling behind to what the report calls the Bundesliga’s fastest-ever goal, scored after 8.4 seconds by Robin Fellhauer, who charged down a Manuel Neuer clearance. Harry Kane provided assists for both Ismaël Saibari and Nathaniel Brown in Bayern’s comeback. RB Leipzig defeated Eintracht Frankfurt 6-0, going two up within five minutes and Christopher Nkunku completing a first-half hat-trick.

Bayer Leverkusen secured their first away win of the season at Mainz, prevailing 4-3 after surrendering a two-goal lead and then conceding a late goal to Benedict Hollerbach; Moussa Diaby’s first goal back at the club proved to be the winner, and Patrik Schick equalled Stefan Kießling and Dimitar Berbatov by scoring in the opening five rounds of the Bundesliga. Hoffenheim lost 2-3 to Hamburg after Bernardo received a red card and Miro Muheim scored in the fourth minute of stoppage time; Hoffenheim have now lost four of five in the league and also lost at OFI Crete in the Europa League.

Hoffenheim will face Besiktas on Thursday before a scheduled trip to Gladbach, a sequence the report highlights as significant in the context of their recovering season and upcoming fixtures.