With team spirit and power off the bench: FC Bayern make history in Cologne

According to an employee at Cologne Zoo, Hennes IX is allowed to stay at 1. FC Köln home games for longer if the match is exciting. "That means he'll probably have to leave after 60 minutes today," was the comment ahead of kick-off from the cheerful young man who drives the billy goat to the stadium before every match played by the renowned club. Outside the stadium, the proud animal gets some fresh air and poses for selfies with the home fans. Whether Hennes really had to leave the stadium before the final whistle is not known, because the zoo employee was a little too pessimistic from Köln's point of view that day: the Hinrunde finale between Köln and Munich was evenly matched for a long time – but in the end, FC Bayern deservedly ran out 3-1 winners.

A new record

The setting for the last game of the first half of the season on this January evening, far away from the Allianz Arena, could hardly have been better: most of the 50,000 spectators in the stadium in Müngersdorf sang the FC anthem before kick-off, and shortly before that, Hennes had already strutted onto the pitch from the corner flag through a guard of honour and to the Rocky theme. Everything was set for FC Bayern to break an all-time record set by the Munich men themselves in the 2013/2014 season: playing the best Bundesliga Hinrunde ever. In the end, Vincent Kompany's side managed to run up 47 points and 66:13 goals, a feat no other team has achieved after 17 games.

What's more, no Bundesliga team has ever scored as many goals in the first half of a season; the previous record was set by Bayern in the 2021/22 campaign with 56 goals. "It's an internal conflict with my mentality that we're already celebrating a record in the middle of the season. We'll take it, congratulations to the lads. I don't normally do it, but this time I congratulated them," said the coach. So a historic first half of the season! But for a long time, it didn't look like the league leaders would come off the pitch as winners in the carnival stronghold of Cologne.

First blood to Köln

But first things first: in the 41st minute on a surprisingly mild Wednesday evening, a collective roar erupted from the Köln fans, one like you usually hear on Rosenmontag during carnival. After good chances from Said El Mala on two minutes and Ragnar Ache (38'), Linton Maina put the home side ahead against the record champions. His shot slammed into the net off Manuel Neuer's fists after a solo run and a powerful finish. Ecstasy under the floodlights.

The Munich side had been dominating, but they repeatedly lost concentration and made passing errors. At this point, the visitors had a 7:4 shot count and 73 per cent possession, but with 7:7 crosses and 50 per cent of tackles won on both sides, it was a fairly even contest. There was a slight feeling that this could be one of those games where nothing goes right, where simple things don't work out, even though you give it your all. It could be the first defeat of the season in the German top flight, the end of the unbeaten run. But not with this Bayern team. "They took the lead, then the atmosphere here came into play. But we knew that if we remained patient and played our game, the spaces would open up at some point," analysed Serge Gnabry.

As Köln fans set off pyrotechnics in the fan block immediately after kick-off, resulting in the game being interrupted, there were 11 minutes of stoppage time at the end of the first half. The Munich men remained unfazed and attacked the Köln goal with typical Bayern confidence. The record champions' record this season after going a goal down: two wins, one draw. It was as if the Bayern players were shouting to the stands as they drove forward: “Don't worry, we've got this!” FCB haven't lost any of their last nine Bundesliga games in which they've been behind at some stage (five wins, four draws).

World-class goal from Gnabry

After some good chances for Gnabry, Hiroki Ito and Michael Olise in the first half, Gnabry got Bayern's reward when he equalised just before half-time (45'+5). The agile Leon Goretzka, who formed a remarkably strong midfield duo alongside Aleksandar Pavlović for this game, played Olise free with a through ball. Olise then passed to Gnabry, who took the ball on the run and scored from a very tight angle, chipping the ball over keeper Marvin Schwäbe. It was Gnabry's 12th Bundesliga goal against Köln, the club he's scored more times against than any other.

Michael Olise now has ten assists, the best record in Europe's top five leagues this season. By way of comparison, since records began in the 2004/2005 season, only club legend Thomas Müller (13) recorded more assists than Olise in a Bundesliga Hinrunde on two occasions.

Minjae and Karl wrap up the game

"We were to blame for the first half not going as well. We were very untidy in our play," said Leon Goretzka after the final whistle. After the important equaliser before the break, many expected the visitors to quickly add more goals in the second half. But Köln remained dangerous on the break, for example on 56 minutes: Jakub Kaminski was through on goal after a long ball, but Minjae Kim caught up with the Köln player at the last moment and made a crucial clearance. Fifteen minutes later, the South Korean was also involved in a highlight at the other end. After a fine switch of play by Luis Díaz, Hiroki Ito headed the ball from the byline across goal, where Minjae headed home to make it 2-1 to Bayern. "I was very happy for Minjae. He was the Man of the Match and played an outstanding game," praised fellow defender Jonathan Tah.

No other team has surpassed Munich's nine headed goals in the Bundesliga so far this season. The same applies to their run of 25 games in the top flight with at least two goals – a current Bundesliga record. But it's not just the raw figures that speak for Bayern's form, it's also the nuances. The rotation is also running smoothly, with players such as Ito and Minjae coming into the team and immediately making a crucial impact. Fittingly, it was a substitute who sealed the win. Bayern's 12 goals from substitutes this season are also the most in the Bundesliga.

In the 84th minute, Harry Kane received the ball with his back to goal deep in his own half. The Englishman then turned on his heel and played a sensational lob into the path of the lively Luis Díaz. The Colombian then went on a solo run and crossed towards the right post, where he found substitute Lennart Karl. The 17-year-old once again demonstrated his composure and calmly finished with his left foot into the far corner – 3-1! Lucho Díaz now has nine Bundesliga assists to his name, with the impressive new signing having been involved in at least one goal in each of his last five Bundesliga games (three goals, five assists). "We deserved to win. At the moment, we're managing to find our way back into the game after setbacks and stay true to our style of play," said goalscorer Gnabry.

So what will we take away from this evening in Cologne? The record is in the bag, Bayern seem unstoppable and anticipation is mounting for the decisive competitive matches in the spring. And then, at Cologne Zoo, there's Köln mascot Hennes, who can be happy with his team's performance, even if they couldn't hold on to their 1-1 lead until the end. Bayern, on the other hand, continue to charge ahead in the Bundesliga like an aggressive pack. "It’s going to be a tough match at Leipzig. We’ll have to give everything to get a good result,” said GOATkeeper Manuel Neuer. On Saturday, they take on the third-placed team in the matchday’s standout fixture - Bayern then won't be facing a billy goat, but 11 highly motivated Red Bulls.