Fortuna Köln moved through the opening minutes of their club friendly with confidence, seeing off Kickers Offenbach 3-0 at home on Friday. The match, played on 1 August as part of the club friendlies, went comfortably to the hosts despite both sides having little to lose at this stage of pre-season.
And here's the thing — the opening goal came quicker than anyone might have expected. N. Thier found space in the fourth minute, and that early strike set the tone for what followed. Offenbach had possession but struggled to turn it into anything meaningful.
By the twelfth minute, Köln had doubled their advantage. Thier struck again, and suddenly the visitors were chasing the game. To be fair, Offenbach kept the ball more often — they finished with 45 per cent possession against 55 — but possession meant little when the final pass was missing.
The third goal arrived in the sixty-fifth minute, and this is the one that stays with you. Thier completed his hat-trick, and Köln closed the game out with that kind of economy that suggests they'd been watching how to do this. Offensives attacks told a different story: Offenbach managed 111 attacks to Köln's 91, yet only one corner came their way.
The statistics tell you what the eye already saw. Köln had five more free kicks and two more throw-ins, but the crucial number is the difference between shots on target and chances created. Three goals from fewer attacks is the kind of efficiency you prize in pre-season.
Köln enter the new campaign with momentum. They've won two of their last three friendlies — a 1-0 against ВВВ-Венло and another against Боруссия Мёнхенгладbach II — while Offenbach's recent form has been harder to find. An 8-1 defeat to ВфБ Штутгарт and a 3-1 loss to Байер Леверкузен suggest they have work to do.