Koln 0 - 1 Bayern Munich: Robert Lewandowski goal secures Bayern Munich victory over Cologne

Posted Sunday, March 20, 2016 by PA

Bayern Munich pulled eight points clear of Borussia Dortmund at the top of the Bundesliga once again after winning 1-0 in Cologne with minimal effort.

Robert Lewandowski scored the only goal of the game in the 10th minute and that proved enough, without many more shots on goal, for Bayern to take maximum points.

Cologne defended well while also creating chances to level, but they had to accept defeat to Bayern for the second time this season.

Bayern won the reverse fixture 4-0 and Cologne may have been forgiven for fearing the worst when Lewandowski put the visitors in front early on.

The Bundesliga's top-scorer netted his and Bayern's first chance of the match ruthlessly from the edge of the penalty area, silencing most of the 50,000-capacity crowd.

Kingsley Coman, who had such a positive impact for Bayern in their Champions League clash with Juventus in midweek, tried to do the same again with his incursions from the wing, but there were no takers for his crosses.

Indeed, despite dominating the possession stakes, as has become habitual for Bayern, they were doing very little with the ball.

Lewandowski's goal was their only shot in the first half - the same number as Cologne, who did not even go close to troubling Manuel Neuer with a wayward Marcel Risse free-kick just before the interval.

Leonardo Bittencourt provided the next shot five minutes into the second half, but Neuer was untroubled by his effort.

It was not until the hour mark when Bayern had their next chance, but Lewandowski uncharacteristically missed the target from a good position.

As the clock ticked down, Cologne started to sense they still had a chance, trailing by just the one goal, and they very nearly levelled in the 74th minute when Anthony Modest was put through with only Neuer to beat.

The Germany international came out quickly to meet him and got to the ball first, but Modeste could not convert as the ball spilled free, David Alaba blocking his goalbound effort.

Modeste again found himself with only Neuer to beat, although he this time struck against the Bayern custodian, albeit with the offside flag raised.

Bayern were creating unusually few opportunities, although they did nearly put the result beyond doubt just before the final whistle when Timo Horn dived down to turn Lewandowski's shot behind for a corner.

Coman wasted the last chance of the game, but a second goal was not needed for Bayern to take maximum points.