Finally at home again in the Champions League! Around seven weeks after the goal fest against Dinamo Zagreb (9-2), FC Bayern will be back in front of their own fans against Benfica. The Portuguese record champions are something of a favourite opponent on the European stage for the Munich men. fcbayern.com shows you why in the facts and stats on the match:
Bayern's flawless record
Bayern and Benfica have met 12 times to date - most recently in November 2021. Kingsley Coman and Co won 5-2 in that Champions League clash at the Allianz Arena.
You can't get much better: in 12 encounters with Benfica, Bayern have never lost (W9, D3). No other team have played that many games against the same opponent in European competition without defeat. A look at the previous home matches against the 38-time Portuguese champions offers even more optimism. The Bavarians have won all six meetings in Munich, scoring 24 goals in the process (an average of four per game). The last time they came up against each other in November 2021, the FCB goal music rang out five times as the Águias were sent packing back to Lisbon with a 5-2 away defeat.
Benfica expert Sané
Sweet strike with the left: in Bayern's 5-2 win over Benfica in November 2021, Leroy Sané scored the goal that made it 3-1.
In recent clashes between Bayern and Benfica, one man in particular has flourished: Leroy Sané. The 28-year-old winger has registered three goals and two assists in the last two Champions League meetings with the Portuguese capital club, meaning the German international was directly involved in a goal every 32 minutes on average. Impressive numbers!
FCB lead in this statistic
On the subject of attack, the fact that Harry Kane, Michael Olise and Co are churning out goals this season is partly down to one evident quality in particular. In the first three matches of this Champions League season, Bayern have breached the opposition defensive line with a pass 45 times – more than any other side. Seven of those passes came from Joshua Kimmich – only Real Madrid's Rodrygo has completed more of these passes so far (nine).
Kane can't stop scoring
Harry Kane has picked up from where he left off last season: the FC Bayern frontman has already racked up five goals in the Champions League this term.
Kane is often the recipient of those final balls – and often puts them in the back of the net! The 30-year-old has seamlessly picked up from his outstanding first year with Bayern and is scoring at an unmatched rate. Since the start of last season, the England striker has been directly involved in more Champions League goals than any other player (13 goals, four assists in 15 games). Just one other Bayern player has found the net that many times in his first 15 appearances for the club: Roy Makaay. Looking across the history of Europe's premier club competition, only Erling Haaland (16 goals for Manchester City, 15 for Borussia Dortmund) has scored more goals for one club in his first 15 UCL games.
Attention is turning towards Wednesday – time for the next victory!
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