Patrick Schick and Victor Boniface scored late goals to help Bayer Leverkusen continue their DFB-Pokal title defense on Wednesday night.
The defending champions were on the verge of being knocked out of the competition after going down by two goals.
The visitors took the lead against the run of play in added time of the first half after a long spell of dominance form the host.
Damion Downs met Dejan Ljubicic long ball with a precise control before slotting the ball into the bottom left corner.
Bayer Leverkusen started the second expectedly with renewed momentum as they looked to get back into the game.
Jeremie Frimpong dribbled past a few defenders before releasing a goal-bound shot which Marvin Schwabe dealt with easily.
The visitors scored again in similar fashion – against the run of play. Linton Maina scored from a solo run to double the lead for Koln.
Whille Koln defended deep in their half, they couldn’t sustained the pressure for long.
Patrik Schick received Florian Wirtz pass in the box with sublime composure before slamming the ball into goal to make it 2-1.
The Polish striker met Jeremie Frimpong’s cross into the box with a brilliant header into back of the net in added time to bring Bayer Leverkusen level.
Victor Boniface latched on to Alejandro Grimaldo’s cross into the box and fired a low drive beyond the goalkeeper’s reach to give Bayer Leverkusen the lead in extra time.
Imad Rondic thought he had given Koln a late equalizer late in extra time but the video assistant referee came to Bayer Leverkusen’s aid as they survive a massive scare to progress into the lat four of the competition.
