Köln boss fumes after loss to Darmstadt: “Not up to Bundesliga standards”

Christian Keller didn’t mine his words after FC Köln lost 0-2 at home to Darmstadt in Saturday’s relegation battle at the RheinEnergieStadion.

FC Köln wasted a golden opportunity to pick up three vital points in their bid to avoid relegation when they hosted bottom club Darmstadt on Saturday. 

Much to the disappointment of the home side and their fans, they slipped to a 0-2 defeat after a listless performance. 

As the club’s managing director for sport, Christian Keller, admitted afterwards, the defeat was a major blow to 17th-placed Köln’s hopes of staying up. But he hasn’t given up yet. 

“With all due respect to the opponent. If you want to play in the Bundesliga, you have to beat them at home,” said Keller, who had predicted three points for Köln before the game, according to Kicker. 

“My prediction was wrong. It’s going to be even more uncomfortable now, but [avoiding relegation] is still possible,” Keller said. 

In their current form, however, Köln are unlikely to take anything away from next week’s away game against relegation rivals Mainz. 

“It’s obvious that the quality we put on the pitch was not up to Bundesliga standards,” admitted Keller.

FC Köln centre-back Timo Hübers also knows just how big a blow the defeat was for Köln’s chances of staying up. 

“We know the situation is tense. It was an absolutely shitty afternoon for us,” he said.