Tactics Explained
Bundesliga · 2026/27 · Vincent Kompany · updated 28 Sep

FC Bayern München

Kompany's Bayern and Kim Min-jae, big matches. Big matches get a full animated analysis; every match gets its score, xG and a graded prediction.

Tap a highlighted match to open its analysis. The dashed card at the end is the next match's preview.

Looking forward

Next match: FC Augsburg vs FC Bayern München

FC Augsburg
v
FC Bayern München
Bundesliga · Matchday 5Sat 10 Oct 202615:30 CEST · 14:30 UK · 22:30 KSTWWK Arena

Augsburg are fourth and scoring freely, but their underlying numbers are thin. They are also the only team to beat Bayern in the league last season.

Win probability

FC Bayern München win 82% · draw 11% · FC Augsburg win 7%. Expected goals 3.32–0.97.

What to watch

  • Who replaces Musiala: Without Musiala, Bayern lose the player who started the press that led to the Union opener, and who set up the third goal. Karl (who scored at Elversberg), Saibari and Gnabry are the options.
  • Runners behind the high line: Augsburg's opener at Bremen was a counter through the middle. Kompany's line sits near halfway, so the centre-back next to Tah needs pace and timing. Kim started the last away league game, at Elversberg.
  • Gregoritsch and set pieces: Long balls to Gregoritsch and dead balls are Augsburg's best route to a goal. Brackelmann scored from a corner at Bremen.
  • The last 25 minutes: Augsburg let a 2–0 lead slip at Bremen, conceding three goals after the 65th minute. Baum said afterwards: "Unfortunately, we fully deserved to lose."
  • Rotation before Viking: The international break ends days before this game, and Bayern play in Stavanger on Tuesday. Expect some changes.

FC Augsburg: how they play

  • Shape: a back three (3-4-2-1), with Marius Wolf and Hennes Behrens as wing-backs and Banks, Brackelmann and Matsima behind them (Sports Mole's predicted XI for Bremen).
  • Direct play: Bundesliga.com calls Michael Gregoritsch "the ideal target man in Baum's direct system". He also leads the press.
  • Transitions: the opener at Bremen was a fast counter, with Rieder's pass splitting the defence for Fellhauer.
  • Set pieces: Brackelmann headed in a Claude-Maurice corner at Bremen. Augsburg have scored at least twice in every league game.
  • Key players: Gregoritsch (3 league goals, 2 against Leverkusen), Rieder, Fellhauer, Dahmen. Coach: Manuel Baum, who took over last December with Augsburg 14th and finished ninth.
Looking back

Season so far

FC Bayern München have created 20.69 xG and scored 25 in 7 games. Opponents: 4.36 xG, 4 goals. In the league, 10 points from 4 games against 10.7 expected.

Bundesliga, top of the table after Matchday 4

#TeamPGDPts
1Borussia Dortmund4+712
2FC Bayern München4+1210
3Sport-Club Freiburg4+910
4FC Augsburg4+57
5Bayer 04 Leverkusen4+57
61. FSV Mainz 054+47

Chances, match by match

Bars: expected goals (xG) created. Rings: actual goals. ■ FC Bayern München ■ Opponent

Goals vs expected, running total

Solid: actual goals. Dashed: xG. FC Bayern München in the team colour, opponents in the contrast colour.

League points vs expected points

Expected points: the points the chances deserved, from each Bundesliga match's xG.

Every result, judged by the chances

DateCompOpponentScorexGW / D / L from the chancesVerdictPre-match model
22 AugDSCBorussia Dortmund2–12.37–1.6554% / 20% / 27%Deserved–
28 AugBLVfB Stuttgart5–14.06–0.7991% / 6% / 3%Deserved–
2 SepDFBVfL Osnabrück4–13.11–0.1394% / 6% / 1%Deserved–
5 SepBLFC Schalke 040–01.94–0.2180% / 17% / 3%Points dropped–
10 SepUCLFK Bodø/Glimt5–02.61–0.3087% / 11% / 3%Deserved–
13 SepBLSV Elversberg2–12.83–0.9476% / 14% / 10%Deserved–
18 SepBL1. FC Union Berlin7–03.77–0.3494% / 5% / 1%Deserved–

“W / D / L from the chances” replays each match with the same xG using a Poisson model. xG from FotMob (Opta data) match pages. For Union, FotMob's report and FC Bayern both give 3.77; FotMob's match page shows 3.71. Kick-offs confirmed by bundesliga.com, the clubs and DFB/UEFA listings. Europe switches to CET on 25 Oct.

Column · Our take · 28 Sep 2026

Bayern are creating at last season's record pace. Dortmund's perfect start is the only thing in the way.

Seven competitive games, six wins and a draw, 25 goals scored and four conceded. The chance numbers back it up: Bayern have created 20.7 expected goals and allowed 4.4 (FotMob), about 3.0 per game for and 0.6 against. That is roughly the 2025/26 attack (2.9 xG per game in the league, the season Bayern scored a record 122) with a clearly tighter defence so far. Only Dortmund (1.65 xG in the Supercup) have created more than one expected goal against them.

The attack runs through Michael Olise more than ever: 8 goals and 4 assists in seven games, including a hat-trick against Union. Kane has six and became the fastest player to 100 Bundesliga goals. The one blank was telling, though. At Schalke Bayern had 83% of the ball and 1.94 xG but did not score. A deep, disciplined block can still make them wait, and that draw is why they are second, two points behind a Dortmund side that has won all four league games.

For Korean readers: Kim Min-jae, in his fourth season at Munich, is the third-choice centre-back behind Upamecano and Tah. Kompany uses him when he rotates. He played all 90 minutes at Elversberg, where Abendzeitung rated him above Upamecano, and the second half against Union after Upamecano was booked. Kompany's high line suits him, because it rewards defenders who step in early and win the ball back quickly, but his minutes depend on rotation. In October that works in his favour.

RiskOctober is brutal: seven games in 22 days, including Arsenal, Leipzig and Dortmund, and Musiala (thigh) is out for part of it. The xG gap flatters Bayern because five of their seven opponents were weaker sides.
Match by match

Analyses

BLFC Bayern München · 18 SepFC Bayern München 7–0 1. FC Union Berlin

Olise scores a hat-trick, Kane reaches 100 Bundesliga goals faster than anyone, and Union manage three shots all night.

7 goals animated · tactic breakdown · column →
BLFC Bayern München · 13 SepSV Elversberg 1–2 FC Bayern München

Seven changes, 28 shots and a scare: FC Bayern München's bench fixes it at SV Elversberg, and Kane gets his first league goal of the season.

3 goals animated · tactic breakdown · column →
UCLFC Bayern München · 10 SepFC Bayern München 5–0 FK Bodø/Glimt

A first half like FC Schalke 04, then five goals after the break: FC Bayern München stay patient and FK Bodø/Glimt finally crack.

5 goals animated · tactic breakdown · column →
BLFC Bayern München · 5 SepFC Schalke 04 0–0 FC Bayern München

83% of the ball, six clear chances and no goal: Karius and FC Schalke 04's back five end FC Bayern München's 59-game scoring run.

0 goals animated · tactic breakdown · column →
DFBFC Bayern München · 2 SepVfL Osnabrück 1–4 FC Bayern München

A 30-metre volley after five minutes gave VfL Osnabrück their dream start. It lasted 13 minutes, and FC Bayern München took 22 shots to their five.

5 goals animated · tactic breakdown · column →
BLFC Bayern München · 28 AugFC Bayern München 5–1 VfB Stuttgart

VfB Stuttgart pressed and man-marked Kane, and levelled early in the second half. Kimmich answered within three minutes, and Saibari's two assists off the bench finished it.

6 goals animated · tactic breakdown · column →
SupercupFC Bayern München · 22 AugBorussia Dortmund 1–2 FC Bayern München

A left-back at number 10: Brown scores on his debut, Olise runs the game, and FC Bayern München win a Supercup that only got tight in the last 15 minutes.

3 goals animated · tactic breakdown · column →
Before you start

How to read the diagrams

Every diagram plays on a loop like a short GIF: the dots are players moving, the white ball travels with the play, and lines trace where the ball and the runners went. Goal diagrams show the scoring team attacking up the page. Use Pause to freeze any moment. Diagrams are reconstructions from match reports and analysis, not tracking data, so positions are approximate.

Method and references

Sources

Facts (line-ups, minutes, stats, quotes) are cross-checked across at least two outlets where possible. xG sources are named in the notes above and in each match. Tactical claims are credited to the outlet that made them. YouTube analyses are linked, not transcribed. Everything under Column is our own analysis.