Berlin: Midfielder Thiago Alcantara has been ruled out of Tuesday’s Bundesliga top game against Borussia Dortmund after failing to recover from a muscle injury, Bayern Munich manager Hansi Flick said on Monday.
The playmaker had already missed Saturday’s 5-2 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt. ‘Thiago did not train,’ Flick told a virtual news conference. ‘Unfortunately, he will miss the game (at Dortmund).’ Bayern is top of the table on 61 points, four ahead of Dortmund, with seven matches remaining in the campaign.
Victory at Dortmund would send it seven points clear and put it within touching distance of a record-extending eighth consecutive league crown. ‘It is a completely different game from the first one (that Bayern won 4-0 earlier this season),’ Flick said ahead of the match that will be played in an empty Dortmund stadium that normally sits 80,000 fans.
Late headers by substitute Anthony Modeste and Jhon Cordoba allowed Cologne to salvage a 2-2 home draw against Fortuna Duessledorf in the Bundesliga after Mark Uth had missed a penalty for the host on Sunday.
The result puts Cologne 10th on 34 points from 27 games while Fortuna stays 16th on 24 points, three adrift of the safety zone. Mainz earlier suffered a 0-5 home drubbing by RB Leipzig.