What this team have achieved this season is simply unbelievable! With the 3-0 victory over Olympique Lyonnais in the semi-finals, FC Bayern set another record in Europe’s premier club competition. The Munich men became the first team to win their first 10 matches in a single Champions League season – in fact, a team have never managed a longer winning run across seasons (Bayern themselves in 2013 and Real Madrid in 2015 previously achieved this mark). fcbayern.com looks back on the route to the final.
#MissionLis6bon: Step 1 – Comfortable win over Red Star
Full commitment from the start: Bayern started their impressive winning run with a good performance in the opening group game.
Bayern kicked off the Champions League season with a convincing 3-0 win over Red Star Belgrade thanks to goals from Kingsley Coman, Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Müller at the Allianz Arena. It was a strong showing, but no one knew back then what was to come this season.
#MissionLis6bon: Step 2 – Gnabry show against Tottenham
Unstoppable: Gnabry netted four times against Tottenham, his first four goals in the Champions League.
Serge Gnabry was the star of the show in London with a four-goal haul in the second half in a breathtaking 7-2 triumph. Joshua Kimmich and a Lewandowski brace completed the scoring as Bayern sent out their first big statement of intent in this season’s competition.
#MissionLis6bon: Step 3 - Tolisso seals victory
Corentin Tolisso scored the winning goal in Greece. It was his first goal since his comeback from a cruciate ligament tear, and he was understandably delighted.
Despite that exhibition display against Tottenhan, Bayern struggled for a long time away to Olympiacos before a 75th-minute strike from Corentin Tolisso secured the three points. That came after Lewandowski had equalised and put Bayern 2-1 up either side of the break. The two sides met again just a fortnight later.
#MissionLis6bon: Step 4 – Home win against Olympiacos
Lewandowski muscles his way through against the Greeks on his way to scoring a brace.
In the first match under new coach Hansi Flick, Bayern secured a hard-fought 2-0 win at home to Olympiacos. Lewandowski and Ivan Perišić bagged the goals in the second half as FCB booked their place in the last 16 after just four games. Alphonso Davies also made his Champions League debut in this fixture.
#MissionLis6bon: Step 5 – A first and a four-goal haul to seal top spot
Bayern made another statement in Belgrade.
After the rout at Tottenham, Bayern celebrated their second big win in the group stage with a 6-0 success in Belgrade. Leon Goretzka’s first goal in the competition, the fastest four-goal haul in UCL history from Lewandowski and Tolisso were on the scoresheet in the clear victory.
#MissionLis6bon: Step 6 - FCB clinch group stage record
Bayern made it six wins out of six games to complete a historic group stage.
The group stage finished with a 3-1 win against Tottenham, with Kingsley Coman, Müller and Philippe Coutinho scoring for the German record champions. Bayern became the first German team to go through a Champions League group stage without dropping any points, and it was also the best group record in the history of the competition overall.
#MissionLis6bon: Step 7 – Great performance at Chelsea
What a night for Alphonso Davies! The Canadian capped a fine performance with an awesome assist for the third goal.
In the round of 16, Bayern picked up from where they left off and delivered a formidable performance in the first leg against Chelsea. Flick’s charges ran out 3-0 winners in West London, with Gnabry netting a quickfire brace before record goalscorer Lewandowski completed the scoring. Bayern had put themselves in an excellent position for the return leg.
#MissionLis6bon: Step 8 - Bayern underline title ambitions
Togetherness and fine football: Bayern never gave Chelsea a chance in the second leg.
However, Bayern had to wait a long time for the second leg. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the competition didn’t resume until early August – but FCB’s dazzling form hadn’t changed at all. Over a month since their last competitive match (the DFB Cup final), the Bavarians convincingly won 4-1 with a brace from Lewandowski plus goals from Perišić and Tolisso. The ticket for the finals tournament in Lisbon was secured, and there was more good news: Niklas Süle made his comeback following his ACL tear.
#MissionLis6bon: Step 9 – Historic demolition of Barcelona
Bayern fans will never forget this game: Their team truly blew Barcelona apart in the quarter-finals.
What a game! Bayern beat FC Barcelona 8-2 in the quarter-finals – that’s right, EIGHT-TWO. A brace from Müller in his landmark appearance along with goals from Perišić and Gnabry all but ended the contest before half-time, with Kimmich, Lewandowski and two from Coutinho against his parent club adding to the scoreline in the latter stages. It was a true display of Bayern’s strength, and confirmed their status as favourites for the trophy if they weren’t already.
#MissionLis6bon: Step 10 – Tenth win to reach final
The ever-reliable Manuel Neuer kept a clean sheet with some great saves against Lyon.
To start with, Olympique Lyonnais provided Flick’s men with a real test in the semi-finals, but after Gnabry opened the scoring in the 18th minute, the Bayern express rolled on. The Germany international was digging out his chef celebration again in the 33rd minute, before Lewandowski put the icing on the cake late on. The pair became the most prolific duo in Champions League history.
Bayern have earned their place in the Champions League final with this incredible winning run. Paris Saint-Germain are all that stands in their way, and we’ve taken a closer look at the French giants: