It was Steffen Baumgart’s men who got off to the better start, but they couldn’t take advantage of their best chance in front of goal as Jan Thielmann was denied by Manuel Neuer.
After this opportunity, Bayern kicked into gear and took over the contest, eventually opening the scoring in the 19th minute. Breaking away on a counter-attack, Leroy Sane fed Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, but the Cameroon international’s effort was blocked on the line.
However, the ball fell to the feet of the one man the Koln players didn’t want it to fall to, as Harry Kane was left with the simple task of sweeping home the rebound - a strike that marks him out as the highest-scoring Englishman in a Bundesliga season.
Now armed with the lead, Bayern continued to burst forward and Choupo-Moting should have added a second minutes later but after being picked out by Sane once again, he was denied this time by Marvin Schwabe.
Sane himself came close to getting his name on the scoresheet, but after fashioning space in the box, his shot drifted agonisingly past the post as the visitors ended the half on top, but failed to grow their lead.
Thomas Tuchel’s side were sluggish after the break, but so were the hosts, as both teams struggled to create any clear goal-scoring opportunities early on. After the hour mark, Bayern began to turn the screw but were still left searching for the elusive second goal.
Kingsley Coman came the closest to doubling the Bavarians’ lead, but after being picked out by Leon Goretzka’s flick-on at the front post, the Frenchman’s header crashed against the crossbar.
In the end, the second goal never arrived and Bayern ended up holding on to their slender lead. Koln, the lowest scorers in the division, showed exactly why as they failed to make their late pressure count, consequently replacing Union Berlin as the basement boys of Germany’s top-flight.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Leroy Sane (Bayern Munich)
