After Bayern’s 11-year reign was ended by Bayer Leverkusen last season, the Bavarians are now back on top of German football. The team’s 3-3 draw at RB Leipzig on the Saturday of Matchday 32, coupled with Leverkusen’s 2-2 draw in Freiburg the following day, saw the club crowned champions for the 34th time. The team have had to overcome a number of hurdles on their road to Bundesliga glory for 2024/25. fcbayern.com takes a look back at seven key moments during the campaign.
Matchday 2: Müller’s moment against Freiburg
After a hard-fought 3-2 win at Wolfsburg to kick off the campaign, the first home fixture of the season turned into a real celebration. Bayern beat Freiburg 2-0, but it was about much more than the result. The game was all about Thomas Müller, who played his 710th senior match for the club to become Bayern’s all-time record appearance holder. And he just had to mark the occasion by scoring the second goal.
Matchday 3: Top of the table in Kiel
Bayern’s first-ever Bundesliga visit to Holstein Kiel couldn’t have gone much better. It got off to the perfect start when Jamal Musiala struck the club’s fastest away goal in the top flight after only 15 seconds. It ended up being a handsome 6-1 victory to take Vincent Kompany’s men top of the table for the first time in the season – a position they would not give up once.
Matchday 10: Musiala magic opens up five-point lead
Sometimes it takes a bit of magic from a special player, and that’s what Musiala produced once again on a cold afternoon in Hamburg. Famed for his agility and delicate touch, this time he unleashed a belter from over 25 yards that clipped off the underside of the crossbar to hit the only goal of the game at St. Pauli. It was a huge result against a resolute promoted side, with victory at the Millerntor sending Bayern five points clear at the summit.
Matchday 15: Statement win over Leipzig to kickstart run
Bayern said goodbye to 2024 with a resounding 5-1 victory at home to RB Leipzig. After some early drama when Musiala and Benjamin Sesko both netted in the opening 120 seconds, the Bavarians got down to business with a scintillating performance that also sparked a run of seven straight wins that allowed them to open up an eight-point advantage over defending champions Leverkusen in second place.
Matchday 22: Challengers kept at bay
The gap was still eight points when Bayern went to the BayArena on Matchday 22. The hosts had to get a result to reel in the leaders and in fact forced Kompany’s men into the unusual position of having to sit back, be compact and defend. But the Belgian and his team got the approach spot on, nullifying the Werkself’s attacks to earn one of the club’s more pleasing 0-0 draws that maintained the cushion at the summit.
Matchday 30: Decisive result amidst injuries
Bayern’s 4-0 win at Heidenheim came at a difficult time but proved a huge step towards regaining the Meisterschale. Amidst a host of injuries and on the back of the midweek Champions League elimination at the hands of Inter Milan, FCB produced a near-perfect display. And with Leverkusen only held to a 1-1 draw at St. Pauli, it meant the lead going into the final four games was a commanding eight points.
Matchday 32: Celebrations after draw in Leipzig
It was just a fortnight later that Bayern finally got themselves over the line. A 3-3 draw at Leipzig in itself was a rollercoaster as the team battled back from 2-0 down to lead 3-2 before conceding a late equaliser. The result meant Bayern were nine points clear and with a vastly superior goal difference that would be almost impossible to overturn. But with Leverkusen’s slip in Freiburg, it confirmed that FCB could no longer be caught in any way with two games to go. Kompany’s side lost only twice over the first 32 rounds of fixtures to be crowned champions in thoroughly deserved fashion.
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