Can CanMNT captain Alphonso Davies return to his best for Bayern Munich in 2026-2027?
The start of a new Bundesliga season is nearly here, as the 2026-2027 season is set to kick off with a matchup between Bayern Munich and VFB Stuttgart on Friday.
A battle between the current champions and an upstart side that finished fourth last year, it promises to be an exciting matchup, one that should kick off the season on the right note. Certainly, Bayern did well to open their campaign in style last weekend, beating Borussia Dortmund 2-1 in the Franck Beckenbauer Supercup to already secure their first trophy of the season - Stuttgart, meanwhile, dispatched 3. Liga side FC Hansa Rostock with a 4-0 win in the first round of the DFB Pokal to also kick off their campaign on the front foot.
From a Canadian perspective, it’ll be hoped that Alphonso Davies is able to feature in this opening game, after he played 22 minutes off the bench in that Supercup match. With Davies coming off a hamstring injury that significantly affected his participation for the CanMNT at the 2026 World Cup, he’ll be hoping that he can put those troubles behind him as he looks to regain a regular role in this Bayern team.
90+8 MATCH WINNER 💥
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) April 4, 2026
CanMNT 🇨🇦 captain ALPHONSO DAVIES assists BAYERN'S 100TH BUNDESLIGA GOAL as Bayern turn around a 2-0 deficit to defeat SC Freiburg 3-2 🤯 pic.twitter.com/JSkubIbrxq
After playing just 841 minutes for Bayern in 2025-2026, as he made his way back from an ACL tear partway through the season before dealing with a couple of different muscle issues upon his return, Davies will hope to be able to push for the sort of heavy minutes he typically earned every season for Bayern before he suffered that knee injury at the tail-end of the 2024-2025 campaign.
It won’t be easy, as Bayern have loaded up their squad this summer, as highlighted by the signing of someone like full-back Nathaniel Brown - although Brown showcased impressive chops as a #10 in the Supercup final, as head coach Vincent Kompany decided to try him in a new role.
Granted, that’s nothing Davies isn’t used to seeing - the reality of playing at a club like Bayern Munich is that there is always going to be stiff competition for your place, especially when coming off a year where you were unable to contribute at your usual level. Whenever the opportunity presents itself, Bayern will always look to upgrade their squad, as they feel capable of pushing for every trophy available to them.
This season, you have to imagine that chasing the UEFA Champions League is a priority, as it’s now been six years since Bayern last won it, coming in 2020. Given that they were very close to eliminating last season’s eventual winners, Paris Saint-Germain, in the semi-finals of the 2025-2026 tournament, only falling 6-5 on aggregate, they’ll feel that they’re primed to lift that trophy in 2027 if all goes right for them.
To return to Davies, however, it remains fascinating to see what sort of role he can play for Bayern during this 2026-2027 campaign. What was so frustrating about his injury troubles in 2025-2026 was that it distracted from the fact that in the rare minutes he was on the pitch, he was actually quite good.
For example, it stands out that despite not even playing 1000 minutes, he had one goal and five assists last season, which was very impressive to see from him. Considering that he hardly ever seemed to be quite at 100% physically, it’s a sign of his growth as a player that he was able to be as productive offensively, as he was showing that he’s slowly shedding his reputation as someone who only relies on his physical traits to be effective in and out of possession.
ALPHONSO DAVIES GOAL!! 💥
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) April 19, 2026
The CanMNT 🇨🇦 captain makes it 3-1 for Bayern Munich on their Bundesliga 🇩🇪 title clinching day 🥹
🔴 Watch LIVE on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/aY69Kr6UWk
While Davies will likely forever be known for his blistering pace (pace that many are hoping he didn’t lose with all of his injury troubles), those numbers serve as a good reminder that his game is not fully reliant on his ability to run fast anymore. Of course, those who have watched him closely will have seen the way he’s grown on the ball in recent years and will have been aware of that, but it still bears repeating.
To that point, though, it’s worth looking at some of the other numbers Davies had last year to give an idea of what else he was able to contribute to this Bayern side despite his injury troubles.
Firstly, on the ball, you could see the way Davies adapted his game to the circumstances he was dealing with, as he truly was quite strong in possession, but in a way not typically seen of him. 
Here's Davies's heatmap from the 2025-2026 season, showing that he wasn't as aggressive in the final third as usual (WyScout)
For example, his passing numbers really stand out - Davies attempted upwards of 51 passes (at a 92% clip), along with 5.08 passes into the final third (at a 90.9% clip), 2.22 passes into the box (at a 70.8% clip), and 11.01 forward passes (at an 86.8% clip), which are all quite strong.
On the flip side, Davies averaged just 3.32 dribbles (at a 50% clip) and 2.49 progressive runs - in 2023-2024, he averaged 4.58 dribbles (at a 64.4% clip) and 3.74 progressive runs, showing how he dipped in that regard, slightly.
Yet, it’s worth noting that there is evidence that could be due to circumstantial reasons. In 2024-2025, before Davies got injured, he actually averaged 3.08 dribbles (at a 65.1% clip) and 3.3 progressive runs.
One must remember that 2024-2025 was Bayern’s first season under manager Vincent Kompany, who has changed the way Davies is deployed, using him more as an inverted full-back, one who almost operates as a midfielder at times, instead of a constant overlapping threat, as he was before under past managers.
Within that context, his dribbling numbers from 2025-2026 actually look quite strong, although progressive runs show where he was not at his best physically.
Otherwise, it stands out that Davies generated 0.06 xG and 0.12 xA, along with 0.46 shots and 1.02 key passes, showing that he was doing a good job in the final third, especially as a creator. In 2024-2025, he generated 0.07 xG+0.07 xA and 0.86 shots+1.15 key passes, and in 2023-2024 he generated 0.04 xG+0.07 xA and 0.53 shots+1.01 key passes, showing that he was actually more dangerous last season than he was the year and a half before his injury.
ALPHONSO DAVIES ASSIST 🚨
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) February 14, 2026
The CanMNT 🇨🇦 captain crafts a goal for Leon Goretzka just moments after coming onto the pitch, giving Bayern a 3-0 lead over Werder Bremen 😎
🔴 Watch BUNDESLIGA 🇩🇪 on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/oFQXCEkO1r
To round off his offensive stats, he also attempted 1.48 crosses (at a 43.8% clip), and had 2.58 touches in the box, which is solid - although the former number shows that he isn’t crossing as much as before.
Meanwhile, defensively, Davies averaged 2.77 interceptions, 8.86 recoveries and 5.26 defensive duels (at a 64.9% clip) - given that he averaged 3.69 interceptions, 8.39 recoveries and 4.73 defensive duels (at a 78.8% clip) in 2024-2025, and 3.91 interceptions, 8.61 recoveries and 6.69 defensive duels (at a 61.8% clip) in 2023-2024, it shows that side of his game hasn’t changed too much.
Yes, he’d probably want to be averaging slightly more interceptions, but it stands out to see that his recovery numbers are similar, given that’s a stat one would expect to be impacted by his injury woes. Ditto for his defensive duels, given that they improved from his first season under Kompany to his second season, even though he wasn’t able to match his impressive numbers from 2023-2024.
ALPHONSO DAVIES SAYS NO🙅♂️
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) January 31, 2026
With Bayern Munich on the verge of going down 3-2 away to Hamburger SV, the #CanMNT star keeps the game tied with an incredible goal line clearance!💪 pic.twitter.com/vh9YMGHjPs
So overall, there’s a lot to be encouraged about with Davies here. When looking at those statistics, there are signs to suggest that Davies should be able to come back and play at a similar level this season, or perhaps even better if he can truly start to look like he’s 100% physically once again.
Of course, it can’t be forgotten that while these numbers are strong, they have to be attached to the disclaimer that 15 of Davies’s 23 appearances came as a substitute, meaning that he often entered matches in different game states. Especially considering how dominant Bayern was in league play last year, where Davies made seven of those substitute appearances, that is worth noting.
At the same time, it can’t be forgotten that Davies also got trusted with some big starts, so it’s not as if all his minutes were “garbage time” minutes, to borrow a basketball term - he started the first leg of Bayern’s Champions League semi-final against PSG, after all.
Yet, that fact, as well as these stats, show that Davies will absolutely have the room to slot right back into Kompany’s team, and there’s no reason why he can’t take a big role when fully healthy and ready to do so. 
Here's Davies's percentile chart from 2025-2026 Bundesliga action, showing that he was still elite for Bayern in terms of his ball progression stats, among others (WyScout)
While he might have increased competition at his position, that should both push Davies and offer him a luxury he might not have had in past seasons, either, and that’s to also have options to rotate with him.
Perhaps, rotation like that could allow Davies to be built up so that when the business end of the season comes around, he’s in optimal shape to perform for Bayern, which isn’t a bad thing.
Overall, though, that’s the quest that Davies faces this year, from a personal perspective - to find a way to not just return to his past level, but also show that he can remain healthy and available for games without running into any more serious long-term injuries.
Within that, he’ll of course look to push Bayern towards their lofty objectives, but there’s no doubt that both sides can help each other in that quest - Davies benefits from the environment Bayern give him, and Bayern benefits from having Davies on the field.
Hopefully, that partnership can return to the level it was in past seasons, starting this weekend with the return of the Bundesliga.
You can watch the 2025-2026 Bundesliga campaign on OneSoccer. Tune in to Bayern Munich vs. VFB Stuttgart LIVE on Friday, August 28th (11:30 a.m. PT/2:30 p.m. ET).
