After a busy international break it was back to domestic Bundesliga action, and in front of a packed Allianz Arena FC Bayern turned out a sparkling performance against old foes Werder Bremen. Ahead of the upcoming journey to Rome and what will arguably be the toughest game of the season so far, table-proppers Bremen would not exactly offer the most testing opposition in a game that provided a number of firsts – and a welcome return. Continue reading FCB v SV Werder Bremen
Following a number of “almost, but not quite there” performances that have defined their season so far, FC Bayern would finally click into gear as the Bundesliga moved into week seven – with sixth-placed Hannover 96 being brushed aside with consummate ease. With Pep Guardiola’s side not quite in top gear Hannover coach Tayfun Korkut would have given his team a chance of creating an upset, but within a quarter of an hour any such hope had been blown away by a dominant Bayern side. Continue reading FCB v Hannover 96
FC Bayern would undertake what was arguably their strangest game of the season so far with their visit to Moscow’s Khimki Arena to take on Russian champions CSKA – with the Champions’ League encounter taking place behind closed doors. Following the display of offensive banners in a previous match the Russian team would be duly punished by UEFA, and as a result Bayern would play in front of an empty stadium for the first time in their long history of European travels. Continue reading CSKA Moskva v FCB
Week six of the Bundesliga campaign saw Bayern travel north-west to take on 1. FC Köln, last year’s champions of the second division. The team known as Die Geißböcke or “Billygoats” had been among Bayern’s rivals in the early 1980s, and while the intensity may have waned over the years with the decline of the Rhineland outfit there was still something of a classic “old school” feel about this meeting at a packed RheinEnergieStadion. Continue reading 1. FC Köln v FCB
When the Bundesliga timetable drawn up at the start of the season FC Bayern against newly-promoted SC Paderborn 07 looked like one of the more lopsided fixtures, but when the two teams walked out onto the Allianz Arena for the season’s first Englische Woche match thoughts would be very different. While Bayern had started their first four matches unbeaten despite struggling to get out of first year, the Bundesliga newbies had found themselves at the top of the table – creating what was arguably the most popular top of the table snapshot in a long time. Continue reading FCB v SC Paderborn 07
After the last-minute euphoria of the Champions’ League win over Manchester City in midweek, it was largely expected to be a return to business at usual at the Imtech Arena against HSV. Struggling near the foot of the the table, the northerners came into the game with a new coach at the helm, with Under-23 coach Josef Zinnbauer replacing the sacked Mirko Slomka. Continue reading Hamburger SV v FCB
After much anticipation the Champions League would finally get under way, with FC Bayern taking on English Champions Manchester City at a packed Allianz Arena. With all of our injury problems many Bayern fans had looked at this game somewhat nervously, and there would be mixed feelings when seeing the lineup. Moroccan Medhi Benatia would finally make his debut (in the Champions’ League, no less!) while Brazilian Rafinha would be back in the starting lineup after a two month lay off. Continue reading FCB v Manchester City
After a break for the opening round of international fixtures Bayern would return to Bundesliga action with a home game against VfB Stuttgart, a team that had started as it had finished the previous season – struggling at the wrong end of the table. Starting without Arjen Robben of Franck Ribéry – the Frenchman would start on the bench – the Bayern team would have a distinct lack of pace about it; Dante and Juan Bernat would come in for Sebastian Rode and Xherdan Shaqiri as Pep Guardiola continued with his policy of rest and rotation. Continue reading FCB v VfB Stuttgart
With three points in the locker after the hard-fought opening day win against VfL Wolfsburg, FC Bayern’s first Bundesliga road trip would take them to Gelsenkirchen and a meeting with perennial title rivals Schalke 04. The game would see the much-anticipated debut of Spanish international defensive midfielder and former Real Madrid stalwart Xabi Alonso, while at the same time the somewhat less heralded Sebastian Rode – signed from Eintracht Frankfurt in the summer – would also make his first Bundesliga start. Continue reading FC Schalke 04 v FCB
Finally! After an exciting summer with Germany winning the World Cup in Brazil and a weeks of transfer shenanigans, the penultimate week of August would see a welcome return of Bundesliga action. FC Bayern’s opening fixture would pit them against 2008/09 champions VfL Wolfsburg, genuine title challengers who had brought in a number of new signings over the summer. Continue reading FCB v VfL Wolfsburg