Kuba (Jakub Blaszjkfbslgrsgkfelabfe) ....... Sorry, I Got Frustrated Trying To Spell It!

Borussia Dortmund go top, at least until Saturday, after a hard fought and well deserved three points at Koln. Pacey winger Kuba, who I have come to love to watch, tapped in at the far-post after a wicked cross from Shinji Kagawa to give Dortmund the lead after 20 minutes. After that, both sides had a multitude of clear-cut goalscoring chances but failed to put any away. Finally, though, with just eight minutes left on the clock, Lukas Podolski smashed home on his rocket launcher of a left foot to put Koln back on level terms. Just as soon as the Koln faithful began to rejoice at the thought of a point against a side as strong as Borussia Dortmund, a little bit of a rivalry emerged.

Lukas Podolski and Nuri Sahin got into it around the center-circle, which ended in a booking for both parties. Now in stoppage time, the game was definitely poised on a knife-edge. Dortmund continued to get the ball up the field and search for a late winner, but Lucas Barrios and Shinji Kagawa were both withdrawn before Podolski’s late equalizer. Dortmund had less resources and less time, but vengeance, as they say, is a dish best served cold.

Dortmund played the ball around the Koln eighteen-yard area, and nearly every player on the pitch was crammed into the Koln box. Kuba, who scored Dortmund’s opener, hit a low ball across the 12-yard box and it was Nuri Sahin who was on hand to smash it past young goalkeeper Miro Varvodic to seal a last-gasp winner for Jurgen Klopp’s table-topping men. Nuri Sahin sprinted the full length of the pitch over to where Podolski was standing, and slid past him on his knees, all the while wagging a ‘how do you like me now?’ finger in the air. They did it the hard way, but they got it done. The stuff of champions, no?

Koln’s table position, 16th with a game in hand, suggests some pretty poor football. Really, though, it’s been the other way around. Koln played very strongly today and probably did deserve more than a late kick in the teeth that would condemn them to the relegation zone. The problem is, their only flashes of attacking flair or threat in front of goal is Lukas Podolski. He can’t be expected to do it all on his own. When Soldo has a striker as hardy and as experienced as Milivoje Novakovic on the bench and doesn’t bring him on until the 78th minute to look for a winner, it suggests a real lack of ambition to me. If Koln can’t get results by defending deep and trying to be cautious, then why not throw caution to the wind and play enterprising football?

Next weekend, Dortmund host Hoffenheim, while Koln travel to high-flying Hannover.