Two goals from Elvis Rexhbecaj secured Cologne vital points in the relegation battle and a surprising 2-1 victory over Borussia Monchengladbach in the 20th round in Bundesliga on Saturday.

The Billy Goats caught a fairy tale start on the road as Rexhbecaj broke the deadlock with only three minutes played on a through ball to beat Monchengladbach goalkeeper Yann Sommer.

Cologne staged a well-positioned defense but for all that Monchengladbach was able to level the scores against the run of the game with 16 minutes gone when Florian Neuhaus beat Cologne custodian Timo Horn with a deflected shot.

Although the game started with two quick goals further goalscoring opportunities were at a premium for the remainder of the first half.

After the restart, Cologne once again grabbed a bright start as a misplaced pass from Monchengladbach's Stefan Lainer allowed Rexhbecaj to make it 2-1 on the scoreboards after nutmegging Sommer from a tight angle in the 55th minute.

The visitors should have made it three but Ondrej Duda wasn't able to overcome Sommer from a promising position at the hour mark.

Monchengladbach pressed but Cologne's bulwark stood firm and kept the hosts at a distance.

In the 78th minute Lars Stindl had the best chance for the Foals to equalize, but the midfielder pulled wide from the edge of the penalty area.

Cologne's defense remained tight and clinched all three points on the road while Monchengladbach missed the chance to reduce the gap to the top six.

With the win, 14th placed Cologne increase the gap to the drop zone to four points meanwhile Monchengladbach stay in seventh.

"Our performance wasn't good enough to win the game. Cologne was today ahead of us in terms of attitude and we gave away two goals," Monchengladbach head coach Marco Rose said.

On Sunday, Hoffenheim encounter Eintracht Frankfurt and newly promoted Arminia Bielefeld host Werder Bremen to complete the 20th round. 

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