Bayern Munich made it two wins from two games in 2026 when they overcame a plucky Koln side on matchday 17 at the RheinEnergie Stadium. Koln started the brighter of the two sides and would have taken the lead inside of two minutes were it not for a fine save from Manuel Neuer against Said El Mala, who shot from close range.
Bayern eventually began to settle into a rhythm but, against the run of play, the hosts took the lead after 41 minutes when Koln winger Linton Maina was afforded too much space on the counterattack.
Serge Gnabry got the equalizer with a remarkable goal just before the break. Midway through the second half, Kim Min-jae headed in Bayern’s second goal, and inthe 84th minute, substitute Lennart Karl stroked home the third. Let’s take a look at some interesting takeaways from Wednesday’s victory.
Rare off day from Michael Olise
It wasn’t quite the case of an invasion of the body snatchers, but it’s safe to say that Michael Olise wasn’t his usual sublime self against Koln. For reasons unknown, Olise’s performance on Wednesday was littered with unforced errors, most notably 19 misplaced passes.
Despite providing the assist to Gnabry for the equalizer, even after Olise seemingly got his radar calibrated for the second half, his creative influence on proceedings still waned. Anyone can have an off day, but by Olise’s high standards, a pass completion rate of only 69% (43/62) can almost be considered a stinker.
Considering that the 24-year-old winger managed to complete only one of his three attempted dribbles, readers can get the picture. Based on how the evening unfolded maybe Olise, and not Gnabry, should have been the one to make way for Karl after 67 minutes. Maybe Olise just needs a little rest.