Bayern Munich defender Raphael Guerreiro scored a spectacular second-half goal and Thomas Mueller scored late to defeat Cologne 2-0 on Saturday, delaying Bayer Leverkusen’s Bundesliga title celebrations until Sunday at the most.
Bayern’s victory means Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen, who are 13 points ahead of the Bavarians, must defeat Werder Bremen at home on Sunday to win the Bundesliga trophy for the first time.
Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel made seven changes to his team for Wednesday’s quarter-final second leg against Arsenal, with Harry Kane and Mathys Tel striking the woodwork in the first half.
Guerreiro, a former Borussia Dortmund player, started at left-back ahead of Alphonso Davies and broke the deadlock after 65 minutes with a looping shot from outside the area.
Mueller added a second to secure the victory in the third minute of stoppage time.
The victory came at a cost, as Bayern winger Kingsley Coman was carried off with an injury five minutes into the second half, putting him in danger for Arsenal’s visit next week.
“He will have more tests, but it does not look good,” Bayern sporting director Christoph Freund said.
Dortmund and RB Leipzig resumed their struggle for fourth place — the final guaranteed Champions League position — with both winning to remain level on points ahead of their meeting in Saxony in late April.
Dortmund were reduced to ten men and had to hang on to a 2-1 victory over Borussia Moenchengladbach after Karim Adeyemi was sent off for a second yellow card with 35 minutes remaining.
Dortmund took control as Marcel Sabitzer scored a brace in the first half, the second from the penalty spot, to give them a two-goal lead after 28 minutes.
Gladbach equalized late in the first half when Maximilian Woeber capitalized on some sluggish Dortmund defense from a corner.
Adeyemi, who won a penalty on 48 minutes but had it reversed by VAR after Sabitzer scored, was sent off seven minutes later for tripping Stefan Lainer.
“We’ve lost the last three games here, so this is a good result for us, especially considering we did it with one man down,” Dortmund defender Niklas Suele said.
“Now we’re completely focused on Tuesday,” Suele said of Dortmund’s home Champions League quarter-final match against Atletico Madrid, in which the Germans must overcome a 2-1 deficit.
Leipzig, who lead Dortmund on goal differential, defeated Wolfsburg 3-0 at home, due to goals from Dani Olmo, Benjamin Sesko, and Lois Openda.
The success came just days after Wolfsburg’s sporting director Marcel Schaefer, who won the title as a player with the Wolves in 2009, was unexpectedly poached.
Mainz improved their hopes of avoiding relegation after coming from behind to beat Hoffenheim 4-1 with four second-half goals, putting them one point behind Bochum, who drew 1-1 at home against Heidenheim.
Bochum sits in 15th place, the final safe berth, when Keven Schlotterbeck scored an own goal before heading in the equaliser for the hosts in the closing minute.
Stuttgart may draw level on points with second-placed Bayern if they win at Eintracht Frankfurt later on Saturday.