1. FC Köln has secured the autumn championship in the 2nd Bundesliga as the new leader in an extremely tight table. Cologne won the traditional duel against 1.FC Kaiserslautern 1-0 on the last day of the first half of the season – thanks to a header goal from Dejan Ljubicic (33rd minute). FC, unbeaten in nine competitive games, is celebrating Christmas at the top, two points ahead of Karlsruher SC, who won 2-1 in Paderborn on Friday.
The Cologne team got 19 of the possible 21 points from the last seven games. Managing director Christian Keller said on Sky: “It’s a nice end to the year for us, we’ll take our place in the table with us.” In the sold-out Fritz Walter Stadium on Betzenberg, both teams met offensively with an open mind. There were good chances on both sides, but only the Austrian Ljubicic took advantage of the sleepiness of the Lauter defense after a free kick to score the winning goal for Cologne.
In the top half of the table, nine teams are only separated by a maximum of five points. Hannover 96 missed out on a promotion place with a 0-0 draw against Hertha BSC, while the previous surprise first team SV Elversberg (1:4 against Schalke) missed out on the autumn championship. The winners of the match day included HSV (5:0 against Fürth) and Magdeburg (5:2 in Düsseldorf).
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