1. FC Köln vs Union Berlin — DFB Pokal: stats, lineups & analysis
Match Events
play_arrow4 clips- 32′1. FC Köln, goal:1–0assist
- Half-time1 – 0
- 46′Union Berlin, substitution:off
- 48′Union Berlin, yellow card:Foul
- 51′1. FC Köln, goal:2–0assist
- 57′Union Berlin, substitution:off
- 58′Union Berlin, substitution:off
- 60′1. FC Köln, goal:3–0assist
- 63′1. FC Köln, substitution:off
- 68′Union Berlin, substitution:off
- 71′1. FC Köln, substitution:off
- 72′1. FC Köln, substitution:off
- 75′Union Berlin, substitution:off
- 77′Union Berlin, yellow card:Foul
- 78′1. FC Köln, goal:4–0assist
- 81′1. FC Köln, substitution:off
- 81′1. FC Köln, substitution:off
- 84′1. FC Köln, yellow card:Foul
- 88′1. FC Köln, goal:5–0assist
- 90′Union Berlin, yellow card:Foul
- Full-time5 – 0
Lineups
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Key Stats
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1. FC Köln
Union Berlin
Match report
1. FC Köln thrash Union Berlin 5-0 to cruise into DFB Pokal last 16
1. FC Köln beat Union Berlin 5-0 at the RheinEnergieStadion in the DFB Pokal Round of 32, scoring all five goals without reply. The hosts led 1-0 at half-time and then pulled clear after the break, with Said El Mala involved in three of the five goals.
AI-assisted match report written from official match data.
El Mala broke the deadlock in the 32nd minute, converting a pass from Linton Maina. Maina then turned scorer six minutes into the second half, finishing from El Mala's assist in the 51st minute to make it 2-0. El Mala added his second in the 60th minute, set up by Marius Bülter, and the contest was effectively over.
Bülter supplied the pass again for the fourth, which Ísak Bergmann Jóhannesson scored in the 78th minute. Sebastian Sebulonsen completed the rout in the 88th minute from a Reigan Heskey assist. Köln had 14 shots to Union's 17, but put eight on target to their opponents' four.
Both sides now turn to the Bundesliga, where they meet on Sunday 1 November, with Union Berlin at home to Köln.
Said El Mala scored twice and set up another goal, earning the highest rating of any player on the pitch at 9.68. Linton Maina also had a hand in two goals, scoring once and assisting once.
Köln had eight shots on target to Union Berlin's four, despite the visitors having more attempts overall.
1. FC Köln beat Union Berlin 5–0 (half-time 1–0).
1. FC Köln met Union Berlin in the DFB Pokal (Round of 32). Kick-off was Tuesday, 27 October 2026, 19:45 UTC at RheinEnergieStadion. Referee: Sven Jablonski.
Team pages: 1. FC Köln · Union Berlin · DFB Pokal
Key moments
- 32' Goal: Said El Mala (assist: Linton Maina) — 1–0 · Watch Said El Mala's goal video (32')
- 51' Goal: Linton Maina (assist: Said El Mala) — 2–0
- 60' Goal: Said El Mala (assist: Marius Bülter) — 3–0 · Watch Said El Mala's goal video (60')
- 78' Goal: Ísak Bergmann Jóhannesson (assist: Marius Bülter) — 4–0 · Watch Ísak Bergmann Jóhannesson's goal video (78')
- 88' Goal: Sebastian Sebulonsen (assist: Reigan Heskey) — 5–0 · Watch Sebastian Sebulonsen's goal video (88')
Starting line-ups
1. FC Köln (3-4-2-1)
Union Berlin (4-2-2-2)
Sirius · Why these numbers
Before kick-off Sirius gave 1. FC Köln 44%, the draw 26%, Union Berlin 30%. It finished 1. FC Köln 5–0 Union Berlin.
Home advantage edges Köln ahead of stronger Union — Union Berlin sit 45 points higher on our strength rating, but Köln's usual home advantage and their habit of controlling the ball, 50 to 43 in possession in recent games, give them a slight lean at 44%. The draw starts at 29% for a gap this size and drops to 26%, mainly because both sides' recent games average 3.5 goals.
Why 1. FC Köln at 44%?
Home ground, against the rating. Union Berlin sit 45 points higher on our strength rating — 1583 to 1537. Sides with a 40–80-point rating edge on the road won 32.5% of 11,096 such games. 1. FC Köln hold 7 more possession points (50 to 43 in recent games) — and between equals, control has been worth something. Between evenly-matched sides, home teams with this control edge won 48.3% of 5,603 games, vs 44.0% when styles were level.
Why only 44%?
Because Union Berlin are the stronger side on our strength rating. The rest is the draw at 26% and Union Berlin at 30%.
Why the draw at 26%?
With a rating gap this size the draw starts at 29.1%. These teams' recent games average 3.5 goals — a high-scoring environment. Games in that environment drew 23.2% of 18,446. The goals environment takes 2.5 points off the draw.
What did we measure but not count?
1. FC Köln sit -0.44 goals per game under chance-quality. For home sides we could not receipt a bounce-back — the measured cells sit inside each other's noise bands — so this is noted and scores 0. Union Berlin won 3 of the last 6 meetings with 1. FC Köln. The record is 3 wins for Union Berlin, 2 draws and 1 win for 1. FC Köln. These were 6 Bundesliga games played at both grounds between 11 September 2022 and 2 May 2026. Latest meeting: 2 May 2026 — Union Berlin 2–2 1. FC Köln. In 6,084 historical matches between similarly rated teams, visiting sides with the stronger head-to-head record won 28.2%.
Sirius probabilities, frozen at kick-off. Analysis, not betting advice. How Sirius is doing this season · Full breakdown, evidence cards and squad news in the Match Insights tab
About this match
On this page: the 1. FC Köln vs Union Berlin final score and result, goal highlights and video clips of every goal, who scored, starting lineups, match stats and the full match report from this DFB Pokal fixture.
- Who scored and when — a goal-by-goal timeline of the match.
- Match stats — possession, shots, expected goals (xG), corners and cards.
- Starting lineups and player ratings for both teams.
- Head-to-head record and recent form for both sides.
- Watch Said El Mala's goal against Union Berlin (32').
- Watch Said El Mala's goal against Union Berlin (60').
- Watch Ísak Bergmann Jóhannesson's goal against Union Berlin (78').
- Watch Sebastian Sebulonsen's goal against Union Berlin (88').
Watch the goals: goal highlights and video clips of every goal from 1. FC Köln 5–0 Union Berlin. Explore more on the 1. FC Köln and Union Berlin team pages or the DFB Pokal page.