Bayern trio set records: Fact check ahead of Atalanta second leg

FC Bayern’s waves of attacks rolled toward Atalanta’s goal almost every minute last Tuesday. After the first 90 minutes of the Champions League round of 16, Michael Olise, Serge Gnabry and Co had scored a total of six goals against the Bergamo side. With the 6-1 scoreline, the German record champions find themselves in an extremely comfortable position ahead of Wednesday’s second leg in Munich (kick-off 21:00 CET) – never before has a team qualified for the next round of a European competition after losing the first leg of a knockout tie by a margin of five or more goals. Find out why the Munich side are brimming with confidence heading into Wednesday’s return leg at the Allianz Arena – and not just because of their stellar performance in Bergamo – and which club record Luis Díaz has equalled in the facts on this Champions League clash. 

It was an impressive performance in so many respects by Vincent Kompany’s team in the first leg in Bergamo. On the one hand, Bayern inflicted the biggest-ever defeat on an Italian side in the knockout stages of the Champions League. On the other, Nicolas Jackson and colleagues increased their goal tally in this season’s competition to 28 goals – that’s over three goals per game. Those goals have resulted in eight wins from nine UCL matches, with only Arsenal defeating Bayern 3-1 in November. Aside from that, the Reds’ firepower has been simply irresistable.

One of the Bayern players who demonstrated his full ability in the first leg was Díaz. The 29-year-old Colombian gave his opponent Davide Zappacosta a torrid time on the left wing, as well as frequently drifting into the centre of midfield or up front. Wherever he received the ball, our attacking artist was always a threat. Díaz registered eight successful dribbles across the 90 minutes – a joint club record in a Champions League knockout fixture since detailed data collection started in 2003. Only two FCB players previously achieved that: Jamal Musiala in March 2023 against Paris Saint-Germain, and Douglas Costa in March 2016 against Juventus.

If you're looking for the secret to the goal-fest in Lombardy, you have to start further back – with the defensive midfield duo, to be precise. Aleksandar Pavlović and Joshua Kimmich, who like Michael Olise will miss Wednesday's match due to suspension, regularly played balls behind the defence, setting up numerous well-worked attacks. The midfield duo played the most line-breaking passes (20 and 13) of any players on the field. Pavlović and Kimmich have shown this courage to consistently play into the space behind the defence since the start of the season: FC Bayern are the only team in the Champions League with two midfielders who average at least ten line-breaking passes per game (with at least 500 minutes played). A statistic that underscores their consistency and class.

Having missed the first leg due to injury, Harry Kane could return to European action on Wednesday. Europe’s premier club competition and the Allianz Arena are a perfect match for our goal-getter. On average, the English needs just 81 minutes for a goal in Champions League home games – that’s the third-best figure among players who have been involved in at least 15 UCL matches at one particular venue. Only Manchester City’s Erling Haaland at the Etihad Stadium (73 minutes) and Cristiano Ronaldo for Real Madrid at the Bernabeu (80) have their noses in front of Kane,  who’s netted a total of 18 goals in 17 European appearances on home turf.

Even though a five-goal lead might tempt them to sit back too early, Bayern would be wise to maintain the necessary intensity in the second leg and leave no doubt about their progression from the very start. Although this is Atalanta’s first-ever trip to Munich, La Dea have already demonstrated in other German stadiums that they should never be written off. The Bergamo side have lost only two of their seven away matches against Bundesliga teams in European competition, both times to Borussia Dortmund (in February 2018 and February 2026).

So far this season, Atalanta’s front line haven’t quite been firing on the road. Raffaele Palladino’s team have scored only four away goals so far in this UCL campaign – fewer than any other team currently in the round of 16. Ademola Lookman, who is now at Atlético Madrid, was directly involved in two of those goals. So on Wednesday, Atalanta will need nothing short of a football miracle to make the race for the quarter-finals exciting once again.