Champions League group stage recap: Bayern breeze through again
Friday, February 10, 2023
Article summary
Another season, another six group wins from six games for a Bayern side that never seem fazed at the start of the competition.
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How do they do it? Bayern have been no strangers to a perfect group stage in recent years but few would have predicted them hauling in the maximum 18 points when they were thrown into Group C alongside Inter and Barcelona.
And yet Julian Nagelmann's side cruised through again, not just beating those Italian and Spanish giants but doing so without conceding a goal in the four matches against them. The two goals they did concede in the section, against Plzeň, came when they were already 4-0 up at half-time.
Campaign so far
Group C winners: W6 D0 L0 F18 A2
Top scorer: Leroy Sané (4)
07/09: Inter 0-2 Bayern (Sané 25, D'Ambrosio 66 og)
13/09: Bayern 2-0 Barcelona (Hernández 50, Sané 54)
04/10: Bayern 5-0 Plzeň (Sané 7 50, Gnabry 13, Mané 21, Choupo-Moting 59)
12/10: Plzeň 2-4 Bayern (Vlkanova 62, Kliment 75; Mané 10, Müller 14, Goretzka 25 35)
26/10: Barcelona 0-3 Bayern (Mané 10, Choupo-Moting 31, Pavard 90+5)
01/11: Bayern 2-0 Inter (Pavard 32, Choupo-Moting 72)
Campaign in ten words: Business as usual as Bavarian giants set group stage record.
UEFA.com Bayern reporter
Bayern endured one of their worst Bundesliga starts in decades, and are still coming to terms with the loss of star striker Robert Lewandowski, but on the European stage they look as clinical as ever. Julian Nagelmann's side cruised into the round of 16 with two games to spare, displaying the defensive solidity and attacking efficiency we have come to expect from the six-time winners in recent years. Having emerged unscathed from the toughest group in the competition, they deserve their place among the tournament favourites.
How do Bayern play?
No player can be expected to fill the 40-goal hole left behind by Lewandowski, but in the absence of a talisman, Nagelsmann is hoping to make assets of the unpredictability and fluidity of his forwards in a 4-2-3-1 system. The spread of goals among the likes of Leroy Sané, Sadio Mané and Jamal Musiala suggest his false nine experiment can indeed succeed, but only at the business end of the campaign will this team truly be judged.
Fantasy star performers
Sadio Mané – 43 points
Leroy Sané – 40 points
Benjamin Pavard – 35 points
Squad changes
In: Daley Blind, João Cancelo, Yann Sommer
Out: Benjamin Ballis, Justin Janitzek, Gabriel Marušić, Jakob Thomas Mayer, Marcel Sabitzer
Clubs had until 24:00 CET on Thursday 2 February to register a maximum of three new eligible players prior to the knockout stage. Since 2018/19, it no longer matters whether those players have already played in the competition for another club, even for another club still in the competition.
Key stats
- Bayern won all six matches in the Champions League group stage for the third time – all in the last four seasons. They are the first team to achieve the feat on three occasions.
- The German side have now won their opening match in each of their last 19 Champions League campaigns since a 3-2 defeat at home to Deportivo La Coruña in September 2002. They have kept 17 clean sheets in those 19 games.
- Bayern extended their competition record unbeaten run in the group stage to 34 matches (W31 D3) – scoring in all of those games. They have won the last 13, also a record.
