Bayern Munich dropped their first points in the league on Saturday. The German Champions were held for a 1-1 draw by FC Koln at Allianz Arena.
The home side paid the price for being too wasteful in front of the goal. Cologne stuck to their plan and remained compact in the defence. Joshua Kimmich continued his goalscoring form as he scored for the Bavarians.
The Italian made several changes to the starting eleven which suffered 1-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid on Thursday. Juan Bernat and Rafinha replaced David Alaba and Philip Lahm respectively in the back four. In midfield Joshua Kimmich and Renato Sanches came in for Arturo Vidal and Thiago Alcantara.
The attack included Arjen Robben and Kingsley Coman lead by Robert Lewandowski.The duo of Thiago Alcantara and Franck Ribery missed out to make it in squad due to knocks suffered on Thursday. Julian Green was included in the matchday squad.
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Bayern Munich started the game on the front foot as they surged forward to get on scoresheet quickly. The home side dominated the possesion. The first big chance came at the end of fifth minute when Bernat squared a dangerous ball in the box after the neat work on the left flank. Unfortunately noone was able to connect with the pass.
Bayern kept on piling up the pressure as they played majorily in Cologne’s half. There were numerous decent shots from the edge of the box from Bernat, Robben and Alonso which were well wide of the target. The breakthrough finally came in 39th minute when Bernat delivered a delightful cross after beating his man. The cross was headed perfectly by Kimmich giving Bayern a one goal lead before half time.
The home side started the second half the way they ended it. They struck the post from a corner courtesy of a fine header from Martinez. Cologne remained patient and sat deep allowing all the possesion to Bayern. The visitors came back into the game when Marcel Risse delivered a cross from the right flank. It was met by Anthony Modeste who improvised a bit to beat Neuer by chipping it on his wrong side.
After the equaliser, Cologne changed the dynamics of the game as they initiated more attacks. Bayern Munich had great chances to win the game when Bernat hit the woodwork from a long range effort. Muller also came close from a corner when his effort was saved brilliantly by Timo Horn. Cologne could have snatched all the three points when their final counterattack was just wide of the post.
Ancelloti will be disappointed with the last two results in all competitions. They remain top of the table, but their lead would be cut short to one point if Borussia Dortmund win their game. The Italian will have to find solution for team’s finishing woes infront of goal. He will have plenty of time to think about Bayern Munich’s next game as international break is around the corner.