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PSG 1-2 Bayern
©IMAGO
In the end, Bayern Munich were forced to work for all three points and that was clear when the final whistle went at the Parc des Princes and head coach Vincent Kompany elected to rush on to the field to celebrate with his players. As if the German giants had just won the entire tournament, the Belgian tactician grabbed his players and celebrated an impressive performance. Bayern had just won their 16th game in a row and they’d done so by beating European champions Paris Saint-Germain 2-1.
While the second half was certainly one-way traffic in favour of the hosts, few could deny that Bayern deserved to take at least a point from the match. In the opening 45 minutes the Bundesliga giants played their French counterparts off the pitch, with Luis Díaz bagging a brace following goals in the 4th and 32nd minute. Big chances from Joshua Kimmich and Serge Gnabry could have extended Bayern’s lead before the break, but an abrupt red card to the aforementioned goalscorer in the dying moments of the half for a dangerous challenge on Achraf Hakimi meant that Bayern went in at half time a man down.
However, despite Joao Neves pulling a goal back for PSG midway through the second half, Bayern were able to hold on to claim their 16th consecutive win of the season. Not only does that run put them five points clear at the top of the Bundesliga table and joint-top of the Champions League group stage with Arsenal, but it also extends a record they broke a few weeks ago, when they surpassed the previous record for most consecutive wins. This impressive run of form now means that the closest side to rival the dominance shown by Kompany’s side were AC Milan back in 92/93, who picked up 13 consecutive wins. Which goes to show just how impressive this current run is and why many expect Bayern to challenge for the European Cup this season.
Indeed, alongside the impressive start to this season, Kompany can also lay claim to winning last season’s Bundesliga and now boasts a very impressive record in Munich. Following Tuesday night’s game, the Belgian head coach now has 54 wins, nine draws and just nine defeats in 72 games as Bayern head coach, across all competitions. That gives him an equally impressive average of 2.38 points per game since joining Bayern in the summer of 2024. And when we compare his record to his predecessors at the German club, we can truly see how well he’s doing.
As the graphic above shows, Kompany has been a notable improvement on his immediate predecessor Thomas Tuchel, who could only average 1.95 points per game in all competitions as Bayern head coach. That means that Kompany is averaging 22% more points per game than his German counterpart, while also enjoying a better record than Julian Nagelsmann (2.31 points per game), Niko Kovac (2.26) and Carlo Ancelotti (2.28). But it isn’t the best return from every Bayern head coach in recent years.
As we can also note, Kompany still falls short of Hansi Flick’s record of 2.53 points per game, which remains the best average of Bayern’s last 10 full-time head coaches. It also still lags behind both of Jupp Heynckes’ spells at the club (2.43 and then 2.49), as well as Pep Guardiola’s 2.41 points per game average that he racked up during his three years in Bavaria. And that perhaps underlines how far Kompany has come but also illustrates what he still has to do if he truly wants to be considered a success at Bayern in the coming years.
Improving on Tuchel or Nagelsmann is certainly an achievement in itself, but if Kompany wants to rub shoulders with the likes of Flick, Heynckes or Guardiola, he’ll have to ensure this Bayern side can reach the latter stages of the Champions League this season and make a serious attempt at winning it. But if Tuesday’s performance in Paris is anything to go by, then Kompany and his star-studded team are well aware of the expectations placed upon them and may even have what it takes to match them.
