Football
Stephan Uersfeld, Germany correspondent 9y

Bayern Munich can't afford slip-ups after Koln victory - Matthias Sammer

Bayern Munich sporting director Matthias Sammer has warned the club must maintain their focus after a 4-1 victory over Koln, insisting they cannot afford any slip-ups as they enter the business end of the season.

Pep Guardiola's side not only recorded their fourth consecutive Bundesliga win on Friday, but also stayed on track to break the 100-goal barrier for the current league campaign.

The title holders have averaged four goals in those wins against Stuttgart, Hamburg, Paderborn and Koln, and with 63 goals scored already and 11 games remaining, the club could surpass a century of league strikes.

On Friday, Bayern scored twice within the first 10 minutes before slowing down the pace. That allowed Cologne to not only pull a goal back before half time, but also come close to a second-half equaliser before Arjen Robben made it 3-1 after 67 minutes.

"We started very well, but then we faded badly and allowed Koln to come at us far too strongly. They could even have equalised if it wasn't for Manu [Neuer]," centre-back Jerome Boateng told the club's official website. "We're not entirely satisfied. We carelessly gave away possession far too often and our transitions weren't good."

Robben, who is top of the Bundesliga goalscoring charts following his 17th goal of the season, said: "It was an odd game. We started well, we raced into a 2-0 lead -- and it has to be all over at that point. But we went and conceded a goal at the worst possible time.

"The game shows that we never get any gifts and always have to give it everything. You have to work the whole time: Not just for 30 or 45 minutes, but for 90 minutes every time."

Sammer warned his team that more performances like the one against Koln could lead to a "rude awakening" during the final third of the season, adding: "The [Champions League] knockout matches are coming and that's when you can't afford slip-ups."

Bayern currently lead the Bundesliga by eight points, and go into the second league of their Champions League round of 16 tie against Shakhtar Donetsk next week as favourites following a 0-0 away from home.

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