Lukas Podolski scored twice in five minutes in the first half to set Cologne on the way to a 3-0 win over struggling Augsburg in the Bundesliga on Sunday.

Visitors Augsburg took the early initiative only for Podolski to break the deadlock when he collected the ball, burst past a defender into the area and sent his left-foot shot past Simon Jentzsch in the 19th minute.

He soon struck again, slotting home a penalty after Hajime Hosogai fouled Christian Clemens to complete his third Bundesliga brace of the season and take his tally to eight.

Slawomir Peszko ended the contest 11 minutes after the re-start when he pounced on a mis-hit clearance by Lorenzo Davids to score from close range.

It got worse for Augsburg when substitute Torsten Oehrl was sent off after only 10 minutes on the field for a foul from behind on Sascha Riether.

Cologne have 16 points and Augsburg, who have won only once in 11 outings, are stuck on eight.