1. FC Köln beat Union Berlin 5:0 in DFB-Pokal, El Mala scores twice

Cologne take control after the break

1. FC Köln beat Union Berlin 5:0 in the second round of the DFB-Pokal on 27 October 2026 and reach the round of 16. Union trailed only 0:1 at half-time, but the match changed after the restart, when Cologne scored in the 51st and 60th minutes to lead 3:0. Union coach Mauro Lustrinelli said afterwards that his side had started well and had a strong first half-hour, while Cologne had better quality in the final third. Union captain Rani Khedira, 32, was blunter about the second half, which he described as a 'Systemabsturz', a system collapse, saying the team stood too far apart and made too many mistakes.

“After half-time we completely lost the thread. It was a non-performance from us, and we have to apologise to all the fans who travelled here.”

Khedira's verdict came after a game in which Union had already conceded 17 goals in four games earlier this season, a figure Der Tagesspiegel put on the club's weak start. Union, second-last in the Bundesliga, had gone three league games without defeat before the cup tie, which made the heavy loss more painful for the club.

Scorers and how the goals came

Said El Mala, a 20-year-old Cologne forward and international, opened the scoring in the 32nd minute and made it 3:0 with a shot into the far corner in the 60th minute. Linton Maina made it 2:0 in the 51st minute after a one-two with El Mala, who had been released in behind the Union defence.

Isak Johannesson, who came on as a substitute, added the fourth goal in the 78th or 79th minute, a time that the reports differ on, and Sebastian Sebulonsen scored the fifth in the 88th minute after a pass from another substitute. The scorers were spread across the attack, and El Mala accounted for two of the five goals.

Said El Mala2

Linton Maina1

Isak Johannesson1

Sebastian Sebulonsen1

Said El Mala

2 goals

Linton Maina

1 goals

Isak Johannesson

1 goals

Sebastian Sebulonsen

1 goals

Data from the article text

After the match El Mala said the game had been great fun for him, adding that Cologne had known Union would press high and had identified the spaces to play into. Cologne had led 1:0 at half-time, so the final scoreline came from a second half that the Union defence could not control.

Reactions and the Sunday rematch

Lustrinelli played down the scale of the defeat, describing it as a stumble and saying his team would review it calmly before showing a reaction on Sunday.

“That was a stumble. Things like that can happen.”

Cologne coach René Wagner, who had faced whistles and calls for his removal after a goalless league game against Schalke, praised his side's second-half performance and said they had finally carried earlier moments through to the end. Wagner said he was simply glad to be in the next round, and his team now turned to a different match in Berlin.

“I am simply glad that we are sitting here with a win today and in the next round.”

The two clubs meet again in the Bundesliga on Sunday, 1 November, at 15:30 in Berlin, where Union will have a chance to respond after the cup exit.