Blessin loses derby debut as Gladbach stay pointless after five games

📰 Alexander Blessin's first game in charge ended in a 2-1 Rhine derby defeat at Köln, leaving Gladbach pointless and bottom after five games. 📌 Key points 😩 Gladbach have lost all five league games and are still on zero points. ⚽ Said El Mala's 67th-minute winner gave Köln a 2-1 win. 🗣️ Blessin called the build-up to the winner "a clear foul". 🔥 Flares and fighting involving Gladbach fans briefly halted play. 🚑 Police said one fan and one steward were injured. 📝 What happened ⚽ In matchday 5 at Köln on 11 October, Ísak Jóhannesson volleyed the hosts ahead on 26 minutes after a Sosa free kick was cleared. Joe Scally headed Gladbach level on 39. 🗣️ The derby turned on 67 minutes, when El Mala went through Hashioka and then curled in from around 20 metres. Blessin insisted it was "a clear foul", but the referee let play go on and the goal stood. 🔥 During the game, Gladbach supporters fired flares and fireworks into neighbouring blocks, smashed a Plexiglas partition and clashed with Köln fans. Police entered the stadium and the referee briefly stopped play. It was the first major test of North Rhine-Westphalia's new policing concept, with officers based inside the ground. 😩 Blessin replaced the sacked Eugen Polanski, but his debut brought a fifth straight defeat. Gladbach were without Ko Itakura, Franck Honorat and Tim Kleindienst. Köln move up to tenth on seven points. 📊 By the numbers • Gladbach: 5 games, 5 defeats, 0 points, bottom • Goals conceded in first four games: 16 • Köln: 7 points, 10th • Injured: one fan, one steward 🔭 Why it matters A derby defeat in the new coach's first game deepens Gladbach's crisis, and the crowd trouble could bring disciplinary consequences too. Gladbach host Hoffenheim on 18 October in another bid for a first point; Köln visit Eintracht Frankfurt on 16 October.