But Vincent Kompany’s men may have regrets: with 70% possession and 17 shots on goal against three, they had the means to bring down Bayer, who has still only lost one championship match (in Leipzig on August 31), since the start of the 2023-2024 season.
The two teams presented themselves on the lawn of the Allianz Arena with extraordinary offensive statistics in their last three matches: twelve goals scored for Leverkusen, and… twenty for Bayern, including nine in the Champions League against Dinamo Zagreb !
It’s the moment of truth for Vincent Kompany against Leverkusen: how did his Bayern become so strong offensively?
The show, however, did not completely live up to expectations, and if there was intensity, it was more in the tactical combat than in the flamboyance of the attackers.
In front of their home crowd, Bayern got into the match the best, dominating the proceedings overall with ten shots on goal (including only one on target) compared to one in Leverkusen in the first period. But Xabi Alonso’s Bayer would not have been champion last year – without conceding a single defeat – if it did not rely on an ironclad defensive block.
And against the run of play, it was the visitors who opened the scoring in the 31st minute, through Robert Andrich. The German international midfielder scored with a superb shot from outside the area, at the conclusion of a school combination from a corner (1-0).
Helpless Coman
The “Rekordmeister” did not wait long to equalize. Aleksandar Pavlovic placed a 25m missile in front of the goal, which goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky could only touch with his fingertips (1-1, 39th).
After the break, Bayern pushed, but with a certain lack of success. Or efficiency. Gnabry, on the same action, hit the post then the bar, on his recovery (49th). The Bavarian shooters did not target their attempts (Davies 60th, 72nd and 75th, Kimmich 68th). And Hradecky did the rest with a few hot actions in his area.
Despite the talent of Jamal Musiala, dazzling at times, Bayern ultimately never managed to take the advantage. Vincent Kompany tried to inject some new blood at the end of the match by bringing in Leroy Sané and Kingsley Coman. In vain.
Five minutes from time, Harry Kane limped off the field, visibly injured.
Earlier in the afternoon, RB Leipzig swept aside Augsburg 4-0 on Saturday, thanks to a brace from their Slovenian international Benjamin Sesko, to move into second place.
Sesko, aged 21, scored the first two goals for RB (11th, 15th), before being the decisive passer on Xavi Simons’ fourth goal (57th). Returning from the locker room, Belgian international Loïs Openda killed the match by scoring Leipzig’s third goal (46th).
Friday evening, Dortmund reversed a bad situation at home against Bochum. Trailing 2-0 after 21 minutes of play, Borussia finally won 4-2.
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