Bayern Munich vs. Cologne: Winners and Losers from Bundesliga
Bayern Munich extended their record start to the Bundesliga season with a 10th consecutive win, beating Cologne 4-0 at the Allianz Arena. The result opened a 10-point lead over Dortmund in second place and put the Bavarian giants ever closer to an early winter championship.
Arjen Robben put Bayern ahead on 35 minutes, and Arturo Vidal added a second shortly after to essentially wrap up the result by half-time. Robert Lewandowski added a third just after the hour mark, and Thomas Muller converted a penalty to round off a comprehensive win.
Following Saturday's action, Bleacher Report runs the rule over the match and selects the day's biggest winners and losers.
Click "Begin Slideshow" for the picks.
Winner: Arjen Robben
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Arjen Robben marked his comeback from injury with a bang on Saturday, scoring the goal that put Bayern ahead.
The Dutchman, who hadn't played for Bayern since the end of August, came close with an early volley before breaking the deadlock with a composed finish on 36 minutes.
He started the attack before laying off for Thomas Muller, and eventually, he was on the receiving end of a pass at the edge of the six-yard box. He cut across the face of goal and made no mistake with his finish to put Bayern ahead for good.
With Thomas Muller and Douglas Costa in fine form already, and Kingsley Coman as emerging competition, the 31-year-old Robben did well to show that he still is starting material and is still ready to perform in a big way.
Loser: Cologne as a Contender for European Football
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Saturday's loss was a bitter one for Cologne, who started the season brilliantly and were fifth in the table after eight rounds. Yet they lost to Hannover last week following a very controversial goal, and a second consecutive defeat has seen them slip to eighth on goal difference.
Hertha BSC, Ingolstadt and Borussia Monchengladbach all play tomorrow and could put Peter Stoger's side even further back—a shame given how hard the Billy Goats have worked.
Saturday's match showed that Cologne really don't have the ability to contend with the Bundesliga's better teams; Bayern left plenty of space at the back in the first half, but the visitors didn't even come close to putting the result in question. Instead, Bayern had the match won by half-time.
Winner: Kingsley Coman
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Like Robben, Kingsley Coman returned from injury in bullish form on Saturday, the Frenchman playing for the first time since before the international break.
Just as he did prior to his injury, Coman proved hugely impressive for Bayern, fully justifying his selection in the starting lineup.
The highlight of Coman's performance was creeping up the endline before assisting Arturo Vidal, but that was just one of many great moves the 19-year-old made on Saturday.
There was a distinctly Robben-esque character about him; tall, strong, lightning-quick but with superb control for a man of his acceleration. But unlike Robben, he seems able to show up just about anywhere in attack; his movement and instincts are incredible.
In a few years' time, he could well be one of Europe's elite wingers.
Winner: Arturo Vidal
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Arturo Vidal has had his ups and downs this season, and he has come under criticism more than once. Most notably, Franz Beckenbauer (h/t ESPN FC's Stephan Uersfeld) claimed the Chilean didn't move enough.
On Saturday, Vidal put in a virtuoso performance and was truly everywhere.
Many will note that the former Juventus man scored a fine goal from the edge of the 18-yard box, but that was only the beginning of his productivity. From his central midfield position, he orchestrated the play brilliantly.
The Ballon d'Or candidate touched the ball 148 times (via the official Bundesliga live ticker), a figure exceeded only by Philipp Lahm. Not bad for a player who had been called out for a lack of effort.
Winner: Bayern Munich, for the 1,000th Time
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Bayern Munich became the first team to record 1,000 wins in the Bundesliga on Saturday, the result leaving them with 2832 points after 1714 games played (per the official league website, in German).
The Bavarians managed to achieve their record despite having played fewer games in the German top flight than Werder Bremen and Hamburg, who are 260 and 279 wins behind, respectively.
Historically, the record champions win just over 58 percent of their games, scoring 2.2 and conceding 1.1 goals per game. No other club even has a winning record.
