Michael Olise celebrates scoring against 1. FC Köln in the DFB Pokal (Photo by A. Scheuber/FC Bayern via Getty Images)
FC Bayern via Getty Images
And now Bayern Munich truly owns the record. On Saturday, the Bundesliga giants beat Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-0 to make it 13 wins out of 13 games across all competitions to start the season. That result equaled AC Milan’s 13-game win streak across all competitions to start the season in the 1992/93 season. In fact, on goal differential, Bayern had already secured the record.
As it is tough to compare eras, there was a legitimate discussion that for Bayern to hold the record, they needed to do it outright. In other words, not on goal differential but by winning 14 games straight across all competitions. On Wednesday, after their DFB Pokal win over Köln, the club can proclaim mission accomplished.
Only at the start was there a slight wobble. Köln were better and took the lead thanks to an incredible header by Ragner Ache in the 31st minute. That lead was well deserved as the Billy Goats were better. But five minutes later, Luis Díaz equalized.
That goal shouldn’t have stood, however. Two Bayern players were clearly offside in the buildup before the Colombian scored. There is no VAR in the first two rounds of the DFB Pokal. But even without VAR, it should have been obvious to the referee that there was an offside situation.
From then on, Bayern was flying. Two minutes later, Harry Kane scored the first of two brilliant goals. The English striker would complete his brace in the 64th minute, putting the tie to bed.
“The first 30 minutes weren’t easy,” Kane said after the game. “We had chances to take the lead. They scored the first goal, but we reacted very well. It was very important for us to gain control before half-time. In the second half, we were more able to play our style of football.”
Harry Kane celebrates yet another brace for Bayern Munich. (Photo by A. Scheuber/FC Bayern via Getty Images)
FC Bayern via Getty Images
In fact, after Bayern took the lead, Köln opened up a bit, allowing the Rekordmeister to counter. At this stage, Díaz, in particular, had several chances to put the game fully away. But even without the goal, the writing was on the wall. “Once they started to get tired, we had more space and we used it,” Kane said. Finally, in the 72nd minute, Michael Olise finished it, making it 4-1 after an excellent Díaz assist.
“We’re experiencing a good period and have to keep this feeling and this winning mentality going,” Kane said about Bayern’s start. The striker has now managed 25 goals in 17 games across all competitions, including the English national team.
The England captain has been one of the main reasons for Bayern’s record-breaking start to the season. How big of a deal is the record? According to a Transfermarkt report, no team in Europe’s top five leagues comes even close to matching Bayern’s and Milan’s starting records. The second-longest winning streak to start the season across the top five league teams was 11 wins. Borussia Dortmund managed to do it in 2015/16, and Real Madrid did so in 1968/69 and 1961/62.
All of that, of course, doesn’t matter if Bayern don’t secure any titles at the end of the season. “Now, we have three games in six days, so we’ll only be regenerating,” Bayern head coach Vincent Kompany said. “Leverkusen and PSG will be tough, but we deserve to be confident.”
Indeed, the next few games will be a true test. On the weekend, Bayern will face Leverkusen. Then Bayern Munich will visit PSG before traveling to Union Berlin, hosting Freiburg, and finally playing Arsenal. It will be the toughest run this team has faced yet and will truly test the strength of this squad.