Bayer Leverkusen extended their lead at the top of the Bundesliga to 10 points with a 2-0 derby win at Cologne.
A bad-tempered first half between the local rivals saw Jan Thielmann sent off just 14 minutes into the game and a flurry of yellow cards were shown before Jeremie Frimpong put Leverkusen ahead.
Cologne put up a good fight but any chance of an unlikely comeback was ended when Alejandro Grimaldo doubled the lead in the second half.
With only 10 games remaining, Leverkusen are closing in on ending Bayern Munich’s 11 straight title wins after Thomas Tuchel’s side dropped more points in a 2-2 draw against Freiburg on Friday, while third-bottom Cologne remain in relegation danger.
The opening 10 minutes saw both teams have chances with Jonas Hofmann coming close for the leaders before Linton Maina picked out Dejan Ljubicic at the back post, but the Cologne midfielder nodded wide.
The hosts were reduced to 10 men when Thielmann caught Granit Xhaka on his Achilles and, following a VAR consultation, was dismissed.
Despite Leverkusen’s domination Cologne defended well, but the visitors were beginning to threaten when Grimaldo blasted a free-kick over the bar and Marvin Schwabe made a brilliant low save with one hand from Florian Wirtz’s strike from a tight angle.
Leverkusen eventually found the breakthrough in the 37th minute when Grimaldo’s cross was flicked by Patrik Schick into the path of Frimpong, who tapped the ball underneath Schwabe.
The captain made another great save to deny Wirtz moments later and Cologne pressed for an equaliser when Faride Alidou headed wide just before the break.
Cologne had another fantastic chance five minutes into the second half when Sargis Adamyan’s acrobatic volley thundered off the post.
Cologne did well to counter Leverkusen’s attacks, but could not stop the visitors from extending their lead in the 73rd minute when Amine Adli cut the ball back to Grimaldo on the edge of the box and his low strike deflected past Schwabe.
Kompany not focused on Champions League pressure after Union Berlin victory
Vincent Kompany said he is not focused on the pressures of qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League after Bayern Munich's 3-0 win over Union Berlin.
Bayern moved temporarily top of the Bundesliga standings thanks to a brace from Harry Kane and Kingsley Coman's third goal in as many league games.
Kompany's side have now scored 32 goals in their first nine games this season, taking their tally to 50 goals under the Belgian's tenure in 14 games in all competitions.
But Bayern have failed to replicate that form in the Champions League, failing to win their last two games following an opening day mauling of Dinamo Zagreb.
They find themselves in 23rd place in the new league format in the competition, and are at risk of not making the knockout stages for the first time since 2002-03.
"Fact is that every Bayern game has pressure. But I am not focusing on pressure. Just on the next game," Kompany said.
"This format is eight teams qualify and 20-odd play in playoffs.
"For the top eight teams it is true (automatic qualification) but it is not about being in or out of the Champions League with this format."
Bayern host Benfica on Wednesday, and will be looking to turn their European fortunes around on home soil.
And Kompany believes the intensity shown in their latest Bundesliga triumph can be used as positive momentum ahead of their Champions League return.
"I think the team was working hard in the first and second half, but I was happy with our performance in the second half because we did not concede momentum," Kompany said.
"We did it really well. It was not an easy game, therefore it is a great result for us."
Marmoush makes Frankfurt history with 10th Bundesliga goal of season
Omar Marmoush made club history with his goal in Eintracht Frankfurt's 7-2 win over Bochum.
The forward was on target and provided two assists as Dino Toppmoller's side leapfrogged reigning Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen to third place in the table.
Marmoush notched up his 10th goal of the season, becoming the first Frankfurt player to achieve the feat in the opening nine matches of a Bundesliga season.
The Egypt international broke Tony Yeboah's record of nine goals in as many matchdays, set during the 1993-94 campaign.
With his two assists, Marmoush took his tally of direct goal contributions for this season to 16, the joint-most in the Bundesliga along with Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane.
In fact, Kane is the only player to have previously registered more direct goal contributions after the first nine games of a Bundesliga campaign, with 17 last term.
Bayern Munich 3-0 Union Berlin: Kane nets twice in easy Bundesliga win
Harry Kane scored twice to propel Bayern Munich to a 3-0 win over Union Berlin on Saturday.
Vincent Kompany's team moved, temporarily at least, to the top of the Bundesliga standings with the minimum of fuss at the Allianz Arena.
The Bavarians, who host Benfica in the Champions League on Wednesday, opened the scoring with a 15th-minute penalty from England captain Kane before Kingsley Coman curled a shot past keeper Frederik Ronnow to make it 2-0 two minutes before the break.
Union were constantly on the back foot and could do nothing to stop Kane from stabbing in his second goal from close range six minutes after the restart.
Kane, who also scored a hat-trick against Stuttgart two weeks ago, now has 11 league goals this season.
Undefeated in the league and eager to reclaim domestic dominance after last season's double by Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern have now scored 32 goals and conceded seven in nine Bundesliga games.
Data Debrief: Goals, goals, goals
Bayern just cannot stop scoring. While they may be struggling in the Champions League, they are flying domestically, and they have now netted 50 times under Kompany in all competitions this season.
They are the first club from Europe's five major leagues to reach the 50-goal mark in this competitive season.
Meanwhile, since detailed data collection in 2004-05, only one player has collected more direct goal contributions in the first nine matchdays of a Bundesliga season than Kane this season (16), and that was the former Tottenham captain himself last year.
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