With the Rekordmeister’s title aspirations all but over, they headed into this clash with relegation-threatened Koln looking to avoid the ignominy of losing three consecutive Bundesliga matches for the first time since May 2015. A sluggish start had the home fans worried, as did a gilt-edged chance for Sargis Adamyan, but stand-in goalkeeper Sven Ulreich made a fantastic reflex save to deny the Armenian.
It may have taken them nearly half an hour, but Bayern eventually found their feet as Raphael Guerreiro forced a stunning stop from Marvin Schwabe. The hosts began to turn the screw, with both Harry Kane and Mathys Tel rattling the woodwork with shots before the half time whistle, but Thomas Tuchel’s men were left frustrated at being held at the break.
Things got even worse for the hosts when Kingsley Coman was forced off injured within minutes of the restart. They pressed on regardless, with Tel forcing another strong save from Schwebe before the deadlock was finally broken in some style.
Bayern worked a short corner towards the edge of the area, where Guerreiro was waiting to curl home a gorgeous finish into the corner.
Koln, the lowest scorers in the Bundesliga, perhaps unsurprisingly failed to muster a comeback as they remain rooted inside the bottom-two and four points adrift of safety. It could’ve been so different for the Billy Goats had Steffen Tigges converted from the edge of the box after Dayot Upamecano lost the ball in the Bayern third, but a fine stop from Ulreich secured a 20th consecutive head-to-head without defeat for Bayern - the longest active run in the Bundesliga against any one opponent.
Thomas Muller added some gloss to the scoreline by slotting home the hosts’ second in stoppage time, as they warmed up for the second leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final with Arsenal in midweek with a much-needed victory.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Raphael Guerreiro (Bayern Munich)
