Niclas Füllkrug scores second-half equalizer as Werder Bremen draw 1-1 at 1. FC Köln

Early penalty miss and Maina opening goal

The Bundesliga Saturday evening match at the sold-out 50,000-seat Müngersdorfer Stadion began with an exchange of chances between 1. FC Köln and Werder Bremen. Bremen produced the first attempt in the fourth minute when right-back Arthur delivered a cross to Niclas Füllkrug, whose header went straight to Köln goalkeeper Marvin Schwäbe. In the eighth minute, referee Florian Exner awarded Köln a penalty after Ajax loanee Youri Regeer blocked a close-range shot from Thijs Dallinga with his arm. Dallinga stepped up to take the spot-kick on his starting debut, but Werder goalkeeper Karl Hein pushed the low strike onto the post. Köln broke the deadlock three minutes later after Amos Pieper misplaced a pass intended for Eren Dinkci. Tom Krauß intercepted the ball and fed Ellyes Skhiri, who found Linton Maina on the right edge of the penalty area to score with a low drive into the far corner. Hein denied Krauß from adding a second in the 13th minute, and Köln held their first halftime lead of the Bundesliga campaign.

Second-half pressure and Füllkrug equalizer

Werder Bremen increased their attacking pressure after the break under manager Daniel Thioune, while René Wagner's side retreated into a compact defensive shape. Oliver Deman forced a save from Schwäbe with a left-footed strike in the 49th minute, and Chuki tested the goalkeeper four minutes later. Bremen came closest to equalizing in the 58th minute when Dinkci struck the crossbar with a volley from close range. Köln mounted a rare counter-attack in the 63rd minute through Tottenham loanee Mikey Moore, whose solo run and curling effort drew a diving save from Hein. Bremen leveled the match at 1-1 in the 69th minute after a corner. Pieper directed a header toward goal that Jahmai Simpson-Posey failed to clear, allowing Füllkrug to poke the loose ball over the goal line.

Late returns and table positions

Wagner brought on winger Saïd El Mala in the 73rd minute to provide offensive energy. Wagner had explained the previous day that the teenager missed training during the week due to illness.

“He has the chance to provide an impulse from the bench.”

Bremen introduced 32-year-old Mitchell Weiser in the closing stages, marking the defender's first competitive appearance in more than 14 months following a cruciate ligament rupture suffered in 2025. Weiser, who began his career in the Köln youth system, received applause from the home crowd upon his substitution. The 1-1 draw leaves both clubs on four points in the Bundesliga table, with Werder Bremen sitting in ninth place and Köln trailing in 11th. Füllkrug's equalizer was his second goal of the season following his strike against RB Leipzig a week earlier, continuing his return to Werder after three years away at Borussia Dortmund, West Ham United, and AC Milan.