AUGSBURG, Germany (AP) – Rodrigo Ribeiro scored for the second game in a row and Alexis Claude-Maurice added a second goal with the final kick of the game as Augsburg beat Cologne 2-0 in the Bundesliga on Friday.
Six days after scoring in the 3-2 win over Wolfsburg, Ribeiro broke the deadlock in the 55th minute with a cute backheel off a cutback from U.S. defender Noakai Banks.
Claude-Maurice sealed the victory just before stoppage time, with all Cologne players in the opposition box, rushing forward and rolling the ball into an empty goal for a final corner kick.
Augsburg’s fifth win in six games placed them in ninth place, level on points with the team above them, Eintracht Frankfurt.
Cologne were without four players due to muscle injuries, and coach Lukas Kwasniok said it was the worst absence he had ever experienced.
The visitors were the physically superior team in the fierce battle in the first half, and it was unfortunate that they were unable to score a goal just before the end of the first half when Eric Martel’s header hit the crossbar.
But Augsburg, wearing special shirts designed to highlight the city’s history, seized their chance in the second half to complete a club-record eight-match unbeaten run at home in the Bundesliga.
Cologne remain in 12th place with just one win in their last six league games.
___
AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
