Bayern overcome Köln

FC Bayern beat Köln 2-0 in the Bundesliga on Saturday afternoon ahead of Wednesday's second leg against Arsenal. Raphaël Guerreiro put dominant Munich in front midway through the second half, with Thomas Müller closing out the meeting in added time.

Thomas Tuchel opted for rotation and made seven changes to the XI that took on Arsenal in London. Bayern lined up with Sven Ulreich in goal and Joshua Kimmich, Eric Dier, Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui in defence. Aleksandar Pavlović and Raphaël Guerreiro anchored a midfield featuring Kingsley Coman, Thomas Müller and Mathys Tel, with Harry Kane up front.

Coman had to be replaced with injury after the break, Jamal Musiala taking over. Dayot Upamecano, Alphonso Davies, Leon Goretzka and Konrad Laimer came on for de Ligt, Mazraoui, Pavlović and Guerreiro in the second half.

Goalless first half

Bayern dominated possession but ran up in vain against the rock of Köln's defence, with the away side having the better chances at first. Faride Alidou fired wide before Tel saw an effort saved at the other end. Ulreich made a fine save to keep out Sargis Adamyan's diving header, but Bayern soon upped the pressure.

Keeper Marvin Schwäbe denied the industrious Guerreiro before a Kane effort crashed off the inside of the post. Kane saw another shot blocked before he fired inches wide. The England captain had a header saved before Tel also hit the post as it remained goalless at half-time.

Guerreiro breaks the deadlock

The pattern was similar after the restart, but Bayern either narrowly missed or were denied by Schwäbe in goal. Musiala fired over and Tel saw a shot saved before the latter's pass only just evaded Müller at the far post.

Bayern's pressure was finally rewarded after the hour, when Kimmich's short corner found Guerreiro, who unleashed a curling effort into the far top corner of the net. Musiala again aimed too high and Tel miscued, with Dier blocking against Luca Waldschmidt before Ulreich saved from Steffen Tigges's follow-up in a frantic closing stage. Müller then put the game to bed when he capitalised on a mix-up and slotted past Schwäbe.

The result takes Bayern onto 63 points from 29 matches, three clear of VfB Stuttgart, who take on Eintracht Frankfurt later on Saturday. The Bavarians will be back in action on Wednesday when they entertain Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-final return leg.

Live match report for fcbayern.com by Greg Salmen