FC Bayern have crowned themselves the best autumn champions in Bundesliga history. At 1. FC Cologne, the German record champions won 3-1 (1-1) despite being behind and are still well ahead of their first pursuer Borussia Dortmund. At the same time, coach Vincent Kompany’s team increased the pressure on FC coach Lukas Kwasniok, who has been waiting for a win with his team for eight games.
Linton Maina initially gave Cologne the lead and made them dream of a sensation (41′), goalkeeper Manuel Neuer didn’t look good. A groundbreaking duel against the 16th in the table awaits FC on Saturday (3:30 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Bundesliga and on Sky) at the start of the second half of the season. FSV Mainz 05. The lead over a direct relegation spot is now only five points after the poor results.
Before the game, Kompany had rejected any comparisons with his old mentor Guardiola. These are “impossible, you can only lose,” said the 39-year-old, who had to do without Jamal Musiala and Joshua Kimmich as well as the sick Alphonso Davies. In comparison to the 8-1 win against VfL Wolfsburg, Karl, among others, had to sit on the bench again, while young star Said El Mala returned to the starting line-up in Cologne.
Ten minute compulsory break due to pyrofoam
“We believe in ourselves, even if the chance is small,” said Kwasniok on Sky. FC had “thought of something,” Jan Thielmann also promised. And as in the DFB Cup at the end of October (1:4), when Cologne also took the lead, the home team got off to a brave start. El Mala missed the lead after just 75 seconds, and shortly afterwards the game was interrupted for almost ten minutes until the pyro-fog of the FC choreo had cleared.
The guests had their first really good chances through Hiroki Ito (21′) and Michael Olise (24′) – and had to survive a brief moment of shock. Top scorer Harry Kane slipped and held his right ankle, but was able to continue playing after a short treatment (27th).
It turned out to be a nice game. FC keeper Marvin Schwäbe saved against Gnabry (34th) before the ball bounced over his slip and almost into his own goal (36th). Maina then won the ball against Gnabry and, after sprinting across half the field, shot in front of the penalty area. The ball slipped through Neuer’s hands. Gnabry made amends for his mistake before the break and equalized after a remarkable individual effort.
After the break, the favorite dominated for long stretches, Cologne was waiting for a counterattack. Kim made a last-ditch save against the running Jakub Kaminski (56th). Kompany reacted, brought Karl on for Gnabry (67′) – and Kim headed the lead. Joker Karl brought about the decision.
