1. FC Köln v Bayern Munich 3 - 2
Below-par Bayern toss away two-goal lead
Bayern recent fine run of seven wins from their last eight competitive fixtures came to a shuddering halt against bogey opponents FC Köln on Saturday, as the struggling Rhineland outfit turned the form book on its head and made it five consecutive games without defeat to the men from Munich.
The 50,000 capacity crowd at the RheinEnergie stadium saw Bayern bide their time at the start, before taking a two-goal half-time lead through clinical strikes from Mario Gomez and Arjen Robben stand-in Hamit Altintop. Christian Clemens and Milivoje Novakovic hauled the home side back into it in a breathless 15 minutes after the restart, and Novakovic was on hand to send the home crowd into raptures with the winning goal quarter of an hour from the end.
The result, Bayern’s fifth league defeat of the season, means the champions slip to fifth in the standings on 36 points from 21 matches. The gap to leaders Dortmund is now up to 15 points, but the arrears to second-placed Leverkusen remain stable at three points.
Louis van Gaal made a single change to the team which beat Werder Bremen 3-1 way from home last weekend, Altintop deputising for the flu-ridden Robben. The line-up otherwise had a familiar look to it, with captain Philipp Lahm and Luiz Gustavo at full-back, Anatoliy Tymoshchuk and Holder Badstuber in central defence, and Danijel Pranjic alongside Andi Ottl in the midfield holding role.
Bastian Schweinsteiger tucked in behind front man Gomez, with Altintop and Thomas Müller out wide. Franck Ribery started on Bayern’s five-man bench, while for the home side, there were reunions with their former club for Lukas Podolski and freshly-hired keeper Michael Rensing.
Once referee Felix Zwayer whistled play underway on a windy afternoon in the Rhineland, the sides spent the first quarter of an hour feeling each other out, before the visitors slowly but surely eased into the driving seat. Müller’s persistence against Miso Brecko opened up the first shooting chance, but Pedro Geromel hurled his body in the way.
There was a let-off for Van Gaal’s side on 19 minutes when Köln striker Novakovic chased down a long pass and tumbled under last man Badstuber’s challenge, but Zwayer decided the offence was only worth a yellow card.
FCB switched the play to the other end and took the lead after 22 minutes with their first clear-cut chance. Müller angled a diagonal pass from the left towards the six-yard box, where Gomez beat Mohamad to the ball and fired goalwards with his left foot. Rensing got a hand to it but was unable to prevent the ball crossing the line.
The goal meant Köln were forced to abandon their defensive tactics and attempt to make a game of it, but Podolski directed a free header well wide of the target, and Geromel’s looping effort was an easy take for Thomas Kraft in the Munich goal.
The visitors remained the more dangerous side and doubled their advantage two minutes from half-time. Lahm found Altintop on the edge of the box, the Turkey midfielder unpacking his famous right boot and smacking an angled drive in at the corner, although in truth it was a shot Rensing might feel he should have saved.
Gomez so nearly added a third before the break after outfoxing Mohamad and rounding Rensing, only for Geromel to hack off the line and Ottl to fire his follow-up effort wide of the target.
It was a highly satisfactory 45 minutes’ work by the visitors, but the home side came out after the restart with all guns blazing. Podolski and Adam Matuschyk both shot wide, but Clemens reduced the arrears after 55 minutes with a strong run onto Christian Eichner’s pass and a good finish after dribbling round Kraft.
The men from Cologne were level on 62 minutes, although Mohamad looked suspiciously offside in the build-up, before Slawomir Peszko flicked a cross towards Novakovic, the Slovenia striker nodding home into the far corner.
Van Gaal sent on Ribery for Altintop as the champions sought to restore their lead, but Rensing safely gathered Schweinsteiger’s lob, and worse was to follow for the visitors 15 minutes from time: Matuschyk flicked on the Köln keeper’s huge punt for Novakovic to race clear of Badstuber and beat Kraft in the one-on-one.
Martin Lanig and Gomez flicked headers just wide at each end and Rensing smothered as sub Miro Klose threatened to score with his first touch, before Podolski headed straight at Kraft from Eichner’s cross in a helter-skelter closing phase. Clemens skied a one-on-one chance to seal the points with only Kraft to beat, before the keeper did superbly well to beat out Podolski’s belter in stoppage time.
Live match report for fcbayern.de by Chris Hamley
MATCH STATS
1. FC Köln - Bayern Munich 3-2 (H-T: 0-2)
1. FC Köln: Rensing - Brecko, Geromel, Mohamad, Eichner - Lanig, Matuschyk - Clemens (Yalcin 90+1), Podolski, Peszko (Ehret 90) - Novakovic (Jajalo 82)
Bayern Munich: Kraft - Lahm, Tymoshchuk, Badstuber, Luiz Gustavo (Klose 78) - Ottl, Pranjic - Altintop (Ribéry 64), Schweinsteiger, Müller - Gomez
Substitutes: Butt, Breno, Van Buyten
Referee: Zwayer (Berlin)
Spectators: 50,000 (capacity)
Goals: 0-1 Gomez (22), 0-2 Altintop (43), 1-2 Clemens (55), 2-2 Novakovic (62), 3-2 Novakovic (73)
Yellow Cards: - / Badstuber, Lahm
Credit: FC Bayern Munich (www.fcbayern.t-com.de)
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