Bayern Munich vs Cologne. German Bundesliga.
Allianz ArenaAttendance75,000.
Match report as Bayern Munich beat Cologne 2-0 thanks to second-half goals from Raphael Guerreiro and Thomas Muller; the victory means Bayer Leverkusen must beat Werder Bremen at home on Sunday afternoon, live on Sky Sports, to be crowned Bundesliga champions for the first time
Saturday 13 April 2024 21:46, UK
Second-half goals from Raphael Guerreiro and Thomas Muller saw Bayern Munich beat Cologne 2-0, meaning Bayer Leverkusen must wait until Sunday for the chance to win their first Bundesliga title.
The champions knew nothing less than victory would do against a Cologne side fighting relegation, meaning manager Thomas Tuchel fielded a strong-looking line-up despite taking on Arsenal in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday.
After a subdued first half, the hosts made the breakthrough thanks to Guerreiro's sensational strike, before Muller took advantage of a mistake at the back to confirm the victory in stoppage time.
As a result, Bayern have prolonged Leverkusen's wait for the title by at least 24 hours, with Xabi Alonso's side now needing to beat Werder Bremen at home on Sunday afternoon, live on Sky Sports, to be crowned champions.
The suspended Tuchel was forced to watch the game from the stands, meaning Englishman Anthony Barry was in the home dugout, and the Bayern boss took the chance to rest Manuel Neuer, who has only recently returned from an adductor injury, and Leroy Sane ahead of his side's return clash with Arsenal in the Champions League on Wednesday.
That quarter-final is delicately poised at 2-2 and Tuchel also took the opportunity to try out Noussair Mazraoui in place of Alphonso Davies, who is suspended for the second leg, although the Bavarians did lose Kingsley Coman to an adductor muscle injury in the second half - ruling the France forward out of the Arsenal return.
Both sides had first-half chances to open the scoring, with Faride Alidou shooting just past the far post, before back-up Bayern 'keeper Sven Ulreich did brilliantly to keep out Sargis Adamyan's close-range header.
Meanwhile, at the other end, Harry Kane had a trio of openings before the break, hitting the post, firing just wide of the far post and then seeing a close-range header clawed away by Marvin Schwabe.
The lively Mathys Tel also struck the post as it remained scoreless at the break, only for Guerreiro to break the deadlock just past the hour-mark as the Frenchman found the top left-hand corner with a delightful curler, probably playing his way into Tuchel's starting line-up against Arsenal in the process.
Bayern confirmed the win late on as Muller won back possession on the edge of Cologne's box, before the captain calmly found the bottom corner to keep his side champions, for a day more at least.
Bayern Munich host Arsenal in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday, kick-off at 8pm.
Cologne face Darmstadt in the Bundesliga next Saturday, kick-off at 2.30pm.
