体坛英语新闻：Cologne stun Schalke 3-0 in Bundesliga

BERLIN, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- Cologne reaped their second straight win and moved into the top 10 after beating struggling Schalke 3-0 at the 24th round in Bundesliga on Saturday.

The "Billy Goats" scored twice in the first half before Schalke goalkeeper Alexander Nubel fumbled the ball into the wrong goal to tie up all three points for the hosts.

Cologne took the reins from the kickoff and thought they had opened the scoring with seven minutes played but Jonas Hector's goal from the edge of the box was ruled offside.

Two minutes later, the hosts eventually broke the deadlock as Sebastian Bornauw headed home Florian Kainz' cross into the box.

Cologne continued on the front foot and doubled their advantage in the 39th minute when Jhon Cordoba finished off a counter attack following a deep through ball from Elvis Rexhbecaj.

Schalke showed a vital sign seconds before the half-time whistle as Michael Gregoritsch tested Timo Horn with a rebound from inside the penalty box.

After the restart, Cologne retracted with the two-goal lead behind and let Schalke do the work. The visitors however lacked in ideas and penetration to pose any kind of threat to Cologne's well positioned defence.

Markus Gidol's men remained passive but were still able to extend their advantage as Kainz danced through Schalke's defence on the right wing before shooting from sharp angle. It wasn't a hard shot on target but Nubel fumbled the ball through his arms and legs into the own goal in the 75th minute.

The third goal broke Schalke's resistance and allowed Cologne to record their ninth victory of the season.

Newly-promoted Cologne made a big step away from the drop zone and climbed into the top 10. Schalke stay on the 6th position of the standings despite suffering the second straight loss.

The following games conclude the 24th round on Sunday: newly-promoted Union Berlin face Wolfsburg and runners-up Leipzig host Bayer Leverkusen.