Copenhagen vs Bayern match facts

Having let slip the chance to open UEFA Champions League Group A with a victory, Copenhagen now face the section's early leaders Bayern München at Parken on Matchday 2.

The Danish champions looked set to claim all three points in their first fixture when they led 2-0 at Galatasaray only to concede two in the final four minutes of normal time to draw. Bayern, meanwhile, claimed a 4-3 victory at home to Manchester United, although they had to hold out in a tense finale despite having led 2-0, 3-1 and 4-2.

This is the club's first meeting – the only Group A fixture in which the sides have not previously played.

Form guide

Copenhagen

Record vs German clubs: W0 D4 L8 F7 A21
Home record vs German clubs: W0 D1 L5

Copenhagen were paired with German opponents in last season's group stage, losing 3-0 at Borussia Dortmund on Matchday 1 before a 1-1 draw in the Matchday 6 return.

That draw in Copenhagen ended the Danish side's four-game losing streak against Bundesliga clubs.

It was also the first time they had avoided defeat at home to German visitors. Copenhagen had lost the first five games, scoring three goals and conceding nine.

Copenhagen are in the group stage for the sixth time, having made their first appearance since 2016/17 last season. No other Danish side has featured more than twice.

The Danish club finished fourth in their section for the third time in their five group campaigns in 2022/23, failing to win a game in Group G. They did, however, draw all three home matches, losing all three away including a 5-0 reverse at eventual champions Manchester City that equalled their biggest European defeat.

Four of Copenhagen's five campaigns in the UEFA Champions League proper have ended in the group stage, the exception 2010/11 when they lost to Chelsea in the round of 16 (0-2 h, 0-0 a).

The Danish champions eased past Breidablik of Iceland in their first European tie this season in the second qualifying round (2-0 a, 6-3 h), but had to come through a tight third qualifying round contest against Sparta Praha, the first leg at Parken finishing scoreless before a 3-3 draw in Prague in which both teams scored twice in extra time, Copenhagen eventually prevailing 4-2 on penalties. They then edged past Polish champions Raków Częstochowa in the play-offs (1-0 a, 1-1 h).

The wins against Breidablik and in the first leg against Raków are Copenhagen's only victories in their last 13 European games (D7 L3), the first-leg success against the Icelandic side their only win in six at home (D5).

A 4-0 defeat by PSV Eindhoven in the 2021/22 UEFA Europa Conference League group stage is Copenhagen's only reverse in nine home European matches (W3 D5).

The Danish side are unbeaten in their last six home Champions League group games, drawing five, since a 2-0 defeat against Real Madrid on Matchday 6 in 2013/14. That is one of only two losses in their 16 games at Parken in the Champions League, group stage to final (W6 D8).

Copenhagen claimed their record-equalling 15th Danish league title, all since 1993, and their fifth in eight seasons in 2022/23. They also lifted the Danish Cup to win a sixth domestic double.

Bayern

Record vs Danish clubs: W5 D0 L1 F15 A5
Away record vs Danish clubs: W2 D0 L1

Bayern have not faced a Danish club since the 1998/99 group stage, when they lost 2-1 at Brøndby before a 2-0 victory in Munich.

That loss in Copenhagen is Bayern's only defeat against Danish opposition; they have won the other five games, including a 5-0 victory at HB Køge in Copenhagen in their first game, in the 1976/77 European Cup first round first leg.

Bayern have featured in the Champions League group stage in every season since 2008/09, reaching the knockout rounds in each one of those campaigns.

Overall, this is Bayern's 27th campaign in the Champions League proper, level with Porto and fewer only than Barcelona and Real Madrid (both 28).

Bayern are unbeaten in a competition record 35 Champions League group matches (W32 D3) and have won each of their last 14 group games, also a record.

In 2022/23, under Julian Nagelsmann, the Munich club became the first team to win all six games in the group stage on three occasions. They finished ahead of Inter Milan, Barcelona and Viktoria Plzeň in Group C before ousting Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16 (1-0 a, 2-0 h) only, with Thomas Tuchel having succeeded Nagelsmann, to come up short against eventual champions Manchester City in the quarter-finals (0-3 a, 1-1 h).

Defeat at Manchester City in last season's quarter-final first leg was just Bayern's second in their last 28 away Champions League matches (W21 D6); they have won 19 of the last 23 outside Munich.

Tuchel's team responded to their Champions League elimination by winning Bayern's 11th successive Bundesliga title, pipping Borussia Dortmund on the final day of the season.

The six-time European champions – who claimed their fifth European Cup in 2013 at Wembley, the venue for this season's final – have been eliminated in the last eight in the last three seasons but have reached the quarter-finals or better in 11 of their last 12 Champions League campaigns, the exception their last-16 elimination by Liverpool in 2018/19.

Links and trivia

Have played together:
Birger Meling & Mathys Tel (Rennes 2021/22)
Peter Ankersen & Konrad Laimer (Salzburg 2014/15)

Copenhagen goalkeeper Kamil Grabara will move to German club Wolfsburg on 1 July 2024.

Harry Kane scored England's winner against Denmark in the UEFA EURO 2020 semi-final at Wembley.

Joshua Kimmich scored Germany's 88th-minute equaliser in a 1-1 friendly draw against Denmark on 6 June 2017.

Andreas Cornelius scored twice in Denmark's 2-1 UEFA Nations League win against Kingsley Coman's France on 3 June 2022.

Latest news

Copenhagen

Summer transfers
In: Elias Achouri (Viborg), Birger Meling (Rennes), Jordan Larsson (Schalke), Theo Sander (Aalborg BK), Mohamed Elyounoussi (Southampton), Mateo Tanlongo (Sporting CP, loan)

Out: Emil Rohd (Utrecht), Hákon Arnar Haraldsson (LOSC), Mikkel Kaufmann (Union Berlin), Marko Stamenic (Crvena zvezda), Carlos Zeca (Panathinaikos), Ísak Bergmann Jóhannesson (Fortuna Düsseldorf, loan), Mamoudou Karamoko (Fehérvár, loan), Paul Mukairu (Reading, loan), Daniel Haarbo (Aarhus Fremad, loan), Karl-Johan Johnsson (Bordeaux), Luther Singh (released)

On Saturday Copenhagen suffered their second league defeat of the season, going down 2-0 at home to Midtjylland to end a six-game unbeaten run in all competitions (W3 D3).

The Danish champions have lost two of their last three home league games having suffered only one defeat in the previous 15.

Jacob Neestrup's side have won seven of their first ten league games this season, losing only two – the other also at home, 3-1 against Silkeborg on 26 August.

Seventeen-year-old Roony Bardghji came off the bench to score twice in the final six minutes of a 3-2 win at Brøndby on 24 September in a match his side trailed 1-0 and 2-1. It was the first time Copenhagen had recovered from a goal down twice to beat their local rivals.

Bardghji was also on target in a 9-0 Danish Cup third round win at fourth division Lyseng three days later.

That was Copenhagen's biggest ever victory.

Orri Óskarsson and Lukas Lerager both scored twice at Lyseng, with Peter Ankersen providing three assists to take his tally for Copenhagen to 50 – a new club record.

Winger Diogo Gonçalves has seven goals and five assists in all competitions this season, although his Matchday 1 strike at Galatasaray was his first since getting two in a 4-0 home win against Randers on 5 August.

Bardghji and Óskarsson are among the six nominees for the Superliga's young player of the month award for September. Elias Achouri, whose five assists is the most in this season's Superliga, was the only Copenhagen player selected for September's team of the month.

Copenhagen's top Danish league scorer in 2022/23 with 13 goals, Victor Claesson is still to find the net in this season's competition but came off the bench to score twice in extra time at Sparta Praha in the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round second leg on 15 August. He was also on target in Sweden's 5-0 UEFA EURO 2024 qualifying victory in Estonia on 9 September.

Óskarsson made his Iceland debut as a second-half substitute in a 3-1 EURO 2024 qualifying loss to Luxembourg on 8 September. He played 90 minutes in the 1-0 home win against Bosnia and Herzegovina three days later.

Kevin Diks went off early in the first half at Brøndby with a groin injury and missed the weekend defeat.

Davit Khocholava has been out with a knee injury since 2 April. He had surgery in early July.

On 5 August Nicolai Boilesen made his first appearance since suffering a a cruciate ligament injury on 16 October 2022 on 5 August, but suffered a relapse in the fifth game of his comeback, the defeat against Silkeborg on 26 August, and has not played since.

Claesson was featured in both the official Danish Superliga team of the year and the fan's selection; Elias Achouri was included in the latter.

On 6 September Copenhagen announced that goalkeeper Kamil Grabara will join Wolfsburg in July 2024, although the German club also have the option to complete the move in January.

Bayern

Summer transfers
In: Konrad Laimer (Leipzig), Raphaël Guerreiro (Dortmund), Min-jae Kim (Napoli), Harry Kane (Tottenham), Daniel Peretz (Maccabi Tel-Aviv)

Out: Daley Blind (Girona), Lucas Hernández (Paris Saint-Germain), Marcel Sabitzer (Dortmund), Alexander Nübel (Stuttgart, loan), Sadio Mané (Al-Nassr), Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven, loan), Johannes Schenk (Preussen Münster, loan), Yann Sommer (Inter), Josip Stanišić (Leverkusen, loan), Gabriel Vidović (Dinamo Zagreb, loan), Benjamin Pavard (Inter), Paul Wanner (Elversberg, loan), Ryan Gravenberch (Liverpool)

The Matchday 1 win against Manchester United made Thomas Müller the third player to end on the winning side in 100 Champions League matches, after Cristiano Ronaldo (115) and Iker Casillas (101).

Bayern's three-game winning run in all competitions was ended by a 2-2 draw at Leipzig on Saturday, a game in which they came from 2-0 down to earn a point.

Harry Kane scored Bayern's first goal at the weekend, making it eight in his first six Bundesliga games; only Erling Haaland, with nine, has scored more at the same point.

Leroy Sané got Bayern's equaliser to make it eight goals in his last ten games for club and country.

Three days after the victory against United Bayern were 7-0 winners at home to Bochum, Kane scoring a hat-trick. That made him the first player since 2004/05 to be involved in ten goals in his first five Bundesliga games: seven goals and three assists. The striker is also the first player to score seven goals in his first five league matches for Bayern.

Frans Krätzig made his Bayern debut against Bochum.

On 26 September Bayern won 4-0 in the first round of the German Cup at third tier Preußen Münster. New signing Raphaël Guerreiro, who had been sidelined since 22 July with a calf injury, Daniel Peretz and Taichi Fukui made their debuts, Krätzig and Kondrad Laimer scoring their first goals.

Bayern dropped points for the first time this season as they were held 2-2 by Bayer Leverkusen – who had also won their first three league matches – in Munich on 15 September despite leading twice. Kane gave them an early lead and Leon Goretzka made it 2-1 four minutes from time, but Bayern conceded a penalty equaliser four minutes into added time. Kane's goal against Leverkusen was the 300th of his career on his 505th appearance.

Bayern had lost 3-0 at home to Leipzig in the German Super Cup on 12 August.

Gnabry suffered a broken arm at Preußen Münster and had to be substituted after 11 minutes. He was absent on Saturday.

Müller, Dayot Upamecano (both adductors), Min-jae Kim (thigh) and Matthijs de Ligt (knee) all sat out the cup game. Upamecano and Kim both played 90 minutes on Saturday, when Müller was an unused substitute, but De Ligt again missed out.

Manuel Neuer has been out since 9 December 2022 because of a lower leg fracture that required surgery, but has returned to training.

On 23 August Tom Hülsmann, who has been out since 16 September due to a thigh injury, signed his first professional contract until 2026 – Tarek Buchmann, sidelined by a muscle injury since 1 September, had done the same in June.