The home game against Dinamo Zagreb on Tuesday evening (21:00 CEST) not only marks the start of a new Champions League season for FC Bayern, but also a whole new chapter for head coach Vincent Kompany. Having already made 51 appearances in the competition as a player, the Belgian coach will now take watch from the dugouts in the Europe’s elite club competition for the first time. That could well be a good omen: The last three FCB coaches to make their Champions League debuts with the German record champions have each won it with a clean sheet – Hansi Flick (2019) and Niko Kovać (2018) both celebrated a 2-0 win, while Jürgen Klinsmann claimed a 1-0 victory in 2008. fcbayern.com has all the facts ahead of the game.
Bayern (almost) invincible in pre-knockout phase
As a result of the Champions League reform, the participants in the new season of Europe’s elite club competition will no longer compete in groups as before, but in a single league. FC Bayern have recently dominated this pre-knockout phase like no other team in the competition: FC Bayern are unbeaten in their last 40 preliminary round matches (36 wins, four draws). The last defeat before the round of 16 came almost seven years ago, when Munich lost 3-0 at Paris Saint-Germain at the end of September 2017. The aim now is to take the old strength into the new format.
Strong win rate for Munich
This record is impressive: Of all the teams that have played at least 50 games in this competition (European Champion Clubs' Cup and Champions League), only Real Madrid (60%) have a higher win rate than FC Bayern (59.5%) – the German record champions have won 231 of their 388 games to date. The situation is completely different for opponents Zagreb: The Croatians have won just 13% (seven games) of their 52 matches at this level, giving them the lowest win percentage of all teams with at least 50 appearances.
Expert-openers start their next campaign
What a streak! In the last 20 appearances in the Champions League, FC Bayern have always secured an opening win. The last time they failed to do so was in the 2002/03 season, when they lost 3-2 to Deportivo de La Coruña. The goal difference in the 20 opening matches since then is 51-5 for the German record champions. However, Zagreb have also started the competition strongly of late, winning three of their last four Champions League games on Matchday 1 (one defeat): The wins came against Arsenal in 2015/16 (2-1), Atalanta Bergamo in 2019/20 (4-0) and Chelsea in 2022/23 (1-0).
Fifth clash in European Cups
FC Bayern and Dinamo Zagreb have faced each other twice in the Champions League so far: In the 2015/16 group stage, Munich won both matches (5-0 home; 2-0 away). These were also Munich's only two encounters with Croatian teams in UEFA competitions, while Zagreb are still without a win after twelve meetings with German teams (two draws, ten defeats). However, there are also two encounters between FCB and Dinamo in the quarter-finals of the 1962/63 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, when the Croatians won 4-1 after a first and second leg. However, this competition is not included in the official UEFA statistics.
Kane chasing Rooney
Harry Kane has long since replaced his predecessor in the Three Lions' forward line, Wayne Rooney, as England's record goal scorer. Now he could also replace him as the most prolific Englishman in the Champions League. Wayne Rooney has scored 30 goals in this competition in his career, while the Bayern attacker currently has 29. Let's go, Harry! This one is also yours for the taking!
Müller nearing next milestone
The eternal Thomas Müller: of all the players currently active in Europe, the Bayern veteran is the player with the most appearances in the Champions League. He has made all 151 of these appearances in an FCB shirt – only Barcelona legend Xavi has made so many appearances for one and the same club in the top flight. The 35-year-old Müller could therefore set a new record against Zagreb.
Dinamo and their Champions League problem
No other Croatian team has qualified for the Champions League as often as Dinamo Zagreb. This season marks their seventh time qualifying. In the Champions League itself, however, things haven't gone so well for the Croatians: of their past 39 Champions League games, they have lost 31 and won just three. The club is winless away from home in 21 matches in Europe’s premier club competition (three draws, 18 defeats). Zagreb's last victory away from home came in November 1998 with a 1-0 win at Ajax – almost 26 years ago!
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