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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Andy Brassell

Köln conjure a comeback for ages in quest to complete multiple miracles

Linton Maina celebrates at the end of the 3-2 win against Union Berlin that gave Köln hope of Bundesliga survival.
Linton Maina celebrates at the end of the 3-2 win against Union Berlin that gave Köln hope of Bundesliga survival. Photograph: Ina Fassbender/AFP/Getty Images

Borussia Dortmund may have done the Bundesliga proud this week. They didn’t do FC Köln any favours on Saturday night. After the Champions League finalists’ meek 3-0 defeat at Mainz, Edin Terzic and Marco Reus were sheepish and apologetic, with the coach bemoaning the display as “the face we’ve shown far too often this season”.

No matter. It takes a lot to dampen the spirits of the people of Cologne at any time, but on this Saturday? Nothing was going to smother the fire in their hearts. Their Effzeh had snatched victory from the jaws of certain defeat in a manner that stunned a stadium and city in which people want to believe anything, everything, is possible. They couldn’t quite believe this. “We were already relegated,” defender Timo Hübers told Sky afterwards. “We were mentally and physically exhausted.”

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