Bayern Munich's red-hot start to 2025-26 — and where a healthy Alphonso Davies slots in
It may still be early in the 2025-2026 Bundesliga season, but an undefeated Bayern Munich looks set for a historic campaign.
Through 10 matches in league play, the record German champions already look set to cruise to their 35th title, as they’ve stormed out of the gates with a red-hot start.
In those 10 games, they’ve picked up 28 out of a possible 30 points thanks to a record of 9W-1D-0L, which has allowed them to jump out to a six-point lead over second-place RB Leipzig.
Still ruling the top 👑 pic.twitter.com/akHdKZFE9g
— 🇺🇸 FC Bayern US 🇨🇦 (@FCBayernUS) November 10, 2025
Along with their excellent play in the UEFA Champions League, where they’ve won four out of four games to start the year, and their progression to the Round of 16 of the DFB Pokal, there’s a lot for Bayern to be excited about early on in 2025-2026.
After winning the 2024-2025 Bundesliga title by 13 points to avenge having their 11-year title streak snapped by Bayer Leverkusen in 2023-2024, it’s been a good start to Vincent Kompany’s second season in charge, as he’s done well to build on what he started in his first year in Bavaria.
Because of that, it’ll be interesting to see how they build on this start, as this team seems every bit capable of hitting the heights of Bayern’s treble-winning sides from 2012-2013 and 2019-2020.
Plus, what’s most remarkable about this start is the conditions in which they’ve done it, too. Despite not having Jamal Musiala, who is recovering from a fractured ankle suffered at the Club World Cup, and Alphonso Davies, who suffered an ACL tear with the CanMNT earlier this year, Bayern have been able to cruise along without worry.
To be fair, one big reason for that is the play of Harry Kane, who might be the most in-form player in the world right now, other than perhaps Erling Haaland. Already in 2025-2026 he’s amassed a whopping 23 goals in 17 appearances for Bayern, including 13 in 10 Bundesliga games and five in four Champions League outings, making him an early candidate for next year’s Ballon d’Or.
GOAL 101 in 105 matches for for Harry Kane at FC Bayern! pic.twitter.com/XLiyn2LTrC
— DAZN Football (@DAZNFootball) September 30, 2025
At the same time, there are metrics to suggest that while Kane’s individual success is a big reason behind Bayern’s hot start, a big reason for what they’re doing is the system they play under Kompany, which has led to the excellent play of Kane and others such as Luis Díaz (11 goals, five assists), Michael Olise (seven goals, seven assists) and Serge Gnabry (four goals and four assists). Ultimately, while this has been the Kane show, other secondary pieces are playing a big role in their success, such as Olise, Díaz, Joshua Kimmich, Jonathan Tah and many others.
As a result, among teams in the top five leagues, Bayern currently has scored the most goals (35), has conceded the third-fewest (six), has the best goal difference (+29) and has the best points per game percentage (2.8 per match). Plus, in terms of their advanced numbers, they’ve also generated the second-most xG (26.4), and conceded the second-fewest xG (6.8), giving them the best expected goal differential (+19.6) (stats via FBRef, league play only), showing that their hot start is no fluke, either.
What that shows, though, is the story behind their dominance - they’re both an elite offensive and defensive team, one that is capable of lighting teams up in attack, while shutting things down when needed.
That was demonstrated in a recent match against Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League, for example, one in which they defeated the 2024-2025 Champions League winners 2-1 in Paris. On that day, they scored two first-half goals before seeing out the rest of the game despite suffering a red card right before half-time, showing their dynamic offensive play and airtight defensive game.
No doubt, though, Bayern’s biggest strength is what they can achieve on the ball, as they hold a whopping 61.72% possession on average in games across all competitions. As the saying goes, sometimes, a good defence can be a good offence, and Bayern limits chances for their opponents by putting them under pressure defensively for large periods of the game.
Because of that, they’re also averaging 18.38 shots per game - by comparison, they’re giving up just 8.75 shots, showing how good they’ve been defensively (via WyScout).
That’s key, because they’re not the highest-pressing team, sitting with a PPDA (passes per defensive action) of 10.73, which is decent, but not at the elite level of teams that try to suffocate teams high up the field without the ball (WyScout).
Instead, they try to stay compact when without the ball, forcing teams to either play through congested areas in the middle or go long, as they do a good job of marking tightly in central areas. That approach is reflected in the fact that, despite being about to celebrate his 40th birthday, Manuel Neuer currently leads Bundesliga goalkeepers in actions outside his penalty area per 90 minutes with 3.00, as he otherwise has pedestrian shot-stopping numbers, showing that the bulk of his best work comes well out of his net (as he’s typically done most of his career). 
Here's Neuer's goalkeeping stats from the Bundesliga season so far, per FBREF. As seen here, he's been an excellent sweeper, despite pedestrian shot-stopping numbers
Yet, that’s the secret to Bayern’s defensive success - they try to wear down teams on the ball, before forcing their opponents to play quickly and directly when they lose it, which limits shots.
Returning to what they do on the ball, though, the answer is quite simple - they’re not afraid to commit numbers forward in the attack. Playing in a 4-2-3-1 that they’ve used in 96% of their games, it’s not uncommon to see them push everyone but their centre-backs forward in the attack to try and break down teams, which makes it remarkable that they’re able to defend the way they do.
Thanks to their ability to create overloads all over the pitch, they can destabilize opponents in different ways, and that allows them to attack with freedom. For context, while their top three non-penalty xG+xA contributors in league play are the usual suspects of Díaz (7.8), Olise (7.5) and Kane (7.0), the fourth-highest is their right back, Konrad Laimer (3.4), showing how involved their full-backs and midfielders are allowed to be.
Once they get up the pitch, however, they do a good job of finding the space to generate shots, as they don’t hesitate to fire shots from anywhere. Because of that, it’s actually worth noting that they’re 12th among Bundesliga sides in average shot distance with 17.5 yards (league play only), which is actually quite surprising, as they’re not as picky with their shot selection as most elite sides are.
Thanks to the presence of finishers such as Kane, Olise and Díaz, though, Bayern can get away with such an approach, one that forces teams to respect their shooting threat a bit more. For example, with Kane, he’s such an elite finisher that teams always have to keep an extra eye out for him, and with the way he moves across the field, that opens up space for the likes of Díaz, Olise, Gnabry, and others to get involved in the attack. 
Here's Kane's heatmap from 2025-2026, giving an idea of how much he drifts to get on the ball, which opens up space for his teammates (WyScout)
As a result, Bayern leads the Bundesliga in non-penalty xG per shot with 0.13, showing that despite their aggressive volume approach, they still end up mostly taking good shots, as they do a good job of generating a lot of 0.50 xG shots for all of the 0.05 xG attempts they take.
Here's Kane's shotmap from this season, showing that he isn't shy to fire attempts from all over the pitch (WyScout)
That helps explain how they’ve scored at least two goals in every game they’ve played - and they could still stand to improve in the attack when Musiala, who had 18 goals and eight assists in all competitions in 2024-2025, returns to action, which is wild to think.
Speaking of Musiala, however, it’ll be interesting to now see how he and Davies, who have an excellent connection on and off the pitch, fit into this 2025-2026 side once they return from injury.
In theory, Musiala’s return should be seamless - he’ll be expected to slot right in as the #10 in this 4-2-3-1, flanked by Olise and Díaz underneath Kane, but it remains to be seen where Davies is deployed.
The good news for Canadian fans, however, is that despite Bayern’s success, there’s a path for Davies to slot right back in at left back, as Bayern have filled his spot by committee lately. For example, in just the past month, Laimer, Raphael Guerreiro, and Tom Bischof have all earned starts at left back, showing how much Bayern have missed Davies at that position.
Here's a stab at what Vincent Kompany's 4-2-3-1 could look like when he has everyone available to him
Certainly, Kompany appeared to be a big fan of Davies in 2024-2025 - before his injury, Davies played 2416 minutes across 31 appearances in all competitions, generating three goals and four assists, which had him on a pace not far off his career high of three goals and eight assists from 2022-2023.
ALPHONSO DAVIES!!! He puts this one completely out of reach with a fine finish 🔥
— DAZN Canada (@DAZN_CA) March 11, 2025
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With the way Davies can use his speed to get up and down the pitch, on both sides of the ball, he’s a perfect fit in Kompany’s system, so it’ll be expected that he ends up playing a big role when back at full speed again.
Here's Davies's heatmap from 2024-2025, showing how aggressive he was offensively in Vincent Kompany's system (WyScout)
In particular, he should form a nice partnership with Díaz, who wasn’t on the team the last time he played, given the way that Díaz can cut inside and play centrally in possession, allowing the space for Davies to overlap and join the attack.
Here's Díaz's heatmap from 2025-2026, showing the way he drifts inside on the ball - although he has a lot of touches out wide. Expect a lot of combination play from him and Davies when deployed together (WyScout)
Then, along with the work he can do to help maintain Bayern’s aggressive defensive line, it’s expected that Davies will be a big boost defensively, too, once back fit.
Just look at his FBRef chart, as his numbers from the last 365 days (1165 minutes, due to his injury) are comparable to PSG's Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes, who are his top two statistical peers among full backs in the top five leagues and European club competition over that span.
ALPHONSO DAVIES!!! He puts this one completely out of reach with a fine finish 🔥
— DAZN Canada (@DAZN_CA) March 11, 2025
📺 Watch the #UCL live on DAZN in selected territories
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As a result, Davies is in the 98th percentile in non-penalty goals, 99th percentile in non-penalty xG, 89th percentile in non-penalty xG+xA, 96th percentile in passes attempted, 97th percentile in pass percentage, 98th percentile in progressive passes, 99th percentile in progressive carries, 93rd percentile in successful take-ons and 94th percentile in touches in the box, which are elite offensive numbers (and his defensive numbers were no joke, either).
Here's Davies's percentile chart from the last 365 days - as seen, his offensive numbers are elite, and his defensive numbers are pretty strong, too, showing why Bayern will be excited to have him back at left back (FBRef)
Because of that, it’ll be exciting for Davies to make his return to action, which is expected to come at the end of this year. Having recently returned to full training, it’s only a matter of time before he makes a cameo off the bench, before earning starts after the Bundesliga winter break in 2026.
From there, he’ll look to slot seamlessly into what he’ll hope is still a red-hot Bayern side, as he looks to win his seventh Bundesliga, third DFB Pokal and second Champions League titles this spring.
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