Niclas Füllkrug's second-half leveller earns Werder Bremen a 1-1 draw away at 1. FC Köln

1. FC Köln and Werder Bremen shared the points in a scrappy 1-1 draw at the RheinEnergieStadion, a game that turned on a missed penalty in the first half and a set-piece goal Bremen have made something of a specialty against this opponent.

Köln took the lead in the 11th minute through Linton Maina, the winger finishing across goalkeeper Karl Hein after a move built by Tom Krauß winning the ball and Ellyes Skhiri feeding him into space on the right. Köln had also won a penalty earlier in the move — awarded after Youri Regeer's handball denied a goalbound Sam Dallinga effort — but Hein guessed correctly and saved Dallinga's spot kick low to his right, keeping the game at 1-0 rather than 2-0.

Füllkrug does it from a corner

That missed chance to go further ahead mattered. Werder Bremen were the better side after half-time, and Niclas Füllkrug's poaching instincts found their reward when the striker converted from a corner to level the score. It is the kind of goal that has become a pattern in this fixture — Köln conceded 20 goals from set pieces last season, the most in the division, and have now shipped three in just three matchdays of this one the same way.

Match facts

• 11' — Linton Maina (1. FC Köln), assisted by Ellyes Skhiri
• 43' — Sam Dallinga (1. FC Köln) penalty saved by Karl Hein
• 69' — Niclas Füllkrug (SV Werder Bremen), from a corner

What's next

Köln had gone into the weekend 11th with three points from two games, and a first half in which they led and should arguably have led by more will feel like two points dropped rather than one gained, given how comfortably they controlled the opening 45 minutes. Werder Bremen, who had lost their opener before beating RB Leipzig on matchday 2, extend their unbeaten run to two games and pick up a point on the road against a side they were second-best against for large stretches of the first half.