Koln earn Bundesliga promotion with emphatic win over Kaiserslautern

Koln earned promotion back to the Bundesliga on Sunday with a commanding 4-0 victory over Kaiserslautern, which ensured they finished the season as 2. Bundesliga champions.

The three-time Bundesliga title winners made light work of the game at the RheinEnergieStadion, taking control early with first-half goals from Eric Martel and Luca Waldschmidt.

Martel opened the scoring in the 14th minute, while Waldschmidt followed suit in the 29th as Koln enjoyed a comfortable outing.

They added a third through Florian Kainz in the 76th minute before Mark Uth struck three minutes from time to confirm their return to the Bundesliga, just one year after their relegation.

They return to top-flight football along with the already-promoted Hamburger SV, who lost out 3-2 to Greuther Fuerth to finish the season on 59 points, two behind Koln.

PROMOTED AS CHAMPIONS!
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4:0 #KOEFCK #effzeh pic.twitter.com/TEXIlbQZhe

— 1. FC Cologne (@fckoeln_en) May 18, 2025

This marks Koln’s seventh-ever promotion to the first division, with only Nurnberg and Arminia Bielefeld having been promoted more often (eight times each).

It also marks a record seventh promotion to the Bundesliga for manager Friedhelm Funkel.

Koln have been one of the form teams of the 2. Bundesliga this season, managing a clean sheet in 11 of their 34 matches.

Only third-placed Elversberg have managed more clean sheets, with 13, and they will now go into a promotion/relegation play-off against Heidenheim, who finished in 16th place in the Bundesliga.