Second-half goals from Raphaël Guerreiro and Thomas Müller secured a 2-0 victory for Bayern Munich over Cologne at the Allianz Arena, meaning Bayer Leverkusen must wait until they face Werder Bremen on Sunday to confirm their status as Bundesliga champions.

Bayern Munich 2-0 Cologne
Goals: 1-0 Guerreiro 65' (assist: Kimmich), 2-0 Müller (90'+3)

With an eye on next week's UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg against Arsenal, Thomas Tuchel rotated his starting XI as the likes of Mathys Tel and Müller took to the field, but it was the hosts who had the first sight of goal when Faride Alidou fired narrowly wide of the post. That was the first of numerous chances for either side before the break, with Tel next testing Marvin Schwäbe with an effort from outside the box before Sven Ulreich, in for Manuel Neuer, kept out Sargis Adamyan's header from close range. Bayern, in particular, will have been particularly disappointed not to go into the break in front considering they struck the woodwork through both Harry Kane and Tel, while the former wasted two other fantastic opportunities to give his side the advantage. Still, Cologne threatened on the counter-attack, and a more precise header from Alidou shortly before the half-time would have seen them take a crucial lead.

In an attempt to give the team extra impetus, Jamal Musiala was introduced into the fray at the beginning of the second period. He duly fired an attempt over the bar after some neat footwork, before Florian Kainz headed straight at Ulreich at the other end. Schwäbe then produced a brilliant stop to thwart Tel, but there was nothing he could to keep out Guerreiro's curling effort from the resulting short corner as the left-back found the far corner from outside the area. In trouble at the wrong end of the table, Cologne could ill afford to leave Bavaria with nothing to show for their hard work and pushed for an equaliser, and only a stretched hand prevented Steffen Tigges from snatching a share of the spoils. Ultimately, Müller's composed finish added extra glose to the scoreline. The result means Leverkusen must now beat Werder Bremen on Sunday to etch their name onto the Meisterschale this weekend, while Mainz's 4-1 victory over Hoffenheim was a huge blow to 17th-placed Cologne's hopes of avoiding automatic relegation this campaign.

Match stats

• This was the 100th meeting between the two teams in the Bundesliga. Bayern have won 53 encounters, while Cologne have 23 victories (24 draws).
  All three of Guerreiro's goal this season have all come at home, and have also all given Die Roten the lead.
• Bayern have now hit the woodwork 20 times this season - more than any other side in the Bundesliga.
• Bayern are unbeaten in their last 21 meetings with Cologne (W19, D2) going back to 2011 (3-2 away loss). Their last home defeat was in 2009 (2-1).
• Cologne have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their previous 10 Bundesliga matches.
• This was Cologne's first away defeat of 2024.

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Watch: Tuchel: “Leverkusen deserve to be champions”

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Teams

Bayern: Ulreich - Mazraoui (Davies 62'), De Ligt (Upamecano 61'), Dier, Guerreiro (Laimer 79') - Pavlović (Goretzka 79'), Kimmich (c) - Coman (Musiala 50'), Müller, Tel - Kane
Unused subs: Peretz, Kim, Choupo-Moting, Zaragoza
Out: Boey (muscular), Buchmann (thigh), Gnabry (thigh), Sarr (knee), Sané (pubic bone), Neuer (groin)
Coach: Thomas Tuchel

Cologne: Schwäbe - Thielmann (Heintz 76'), Hübers, Chabot, Finkgräfe - Maina (Schmitz 67'), Ljubicic, Christensen, Kainz (c, Waldschmidt 54') Alidou (Downs 76') - Adamyan (Tigges 67')
Unused subs: Pentke, Köbbing, Paqarada, Carstensen
Out: Diehl (muscular), Kilian (knee), Martel (suspended), Selke (metatarsal), Uth (knee)
Coach: Timo Schultz

Watch: Guerreiro: “We’re fighting for second place now”

About the clubs

FC Bayern München

Allianz Arena

1. FC Köln

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