Led by record hunter Harry Kane, Bayern Munich has taken the lead in the Bundesliga, at least overnight. The superstar shone in the 1-0 (1-0) draw at 1. FC Köln as a goalscorer, source of ideas and driver – never before had a player already scored 18 goals after twelve Bundesliga games.
In the cold rain of Cologne, Kane scored the opening goal in the 20th minute. The clearly inferior FC, who tried hard but mostly just kept up, slipped to last place. So far there have only been half as many goals as Kane.
Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel ordered the three national players Leroy Sané, Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka into his starting line-up, who were also used in the 2-0 defeat against Austria in Vienna on Tuesday. Unlike the national team, which is in serious trouble, they should find an oasis of well-being in the club and gain a sense of success again.
Sané, who saw his first red card as a professional after a misfire against Austria, would have succeeded almost immediately. After a dream pass from Kane, he appeared completely free in front of Marvin Schwäbe, but was unable to overcome the Cologne keeper with a lob (7th). Just a few moments earlier, Timo Hübers had saved the ball from Kane, who was ready to shoot, with the help of the outside post (6th).
Kane effortlessly scores the goal of the day
In general, the Munich team, who dramatically won the championship title in Cologne at the end of May, dominated the initial phase. With moves towards the goal and sharp, precise passes, they posed immense problems for coach Steffen Baumgart’s team. And again it was Kane who created a great chance: He passed it to Sané, whose cross pass was intercepted by Hübers (12th).
Just when Cologne had sorted itself out a bit and found its way into the game better with an unfamiliar three-man chain, Bayern struck ice-cold. Konrad Laimer intercepted a pass from Florian Kainz – then things went much too quickly for Cologne. The ball landed via Kingsley Coman, Sané and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting to Kane, who finished effortlessly.
Choupo-Moting plays 90 minutes in place of Müller
Among others, Sané (28th) and Choupo-Moting (22nd), who started in place of Thomas Müller, missed further opportunities – with more effectiveness, Bayern could have taken a clear lead early on.
Cologne came out of the locker room with momentum and tried to put Munich under pressure earlier. But the guests, who were clearly technically superior, always found solutions to create space for themselves. However, the record champions now took it easier going forward; unlike in the first half, chances were extremely rare in this phase.
Bayern controlled the action with a lot of possession and pushed FC far back. At times, with the exception of Manuel Neuer, all players were gathered deep in Cologne’s half.