Vincent Kompany 'reinvention' has turned Bayern Munich into Champions League 'favourites', says Lothar Matthaus

Under Kompany's leadership, Bayern have enjoyed a brilliant start to their 2025-26 campaign. Saturday's win 3-0 win at Borussia Monchengladbach was their 13th straight victory in all competitions, matching a record among Europe's top leagues that was set by AC Milan in 1992-93. The home team went a man down within the first 20 minutes, but it was not until after the hour mark that Bayern's demolition began when Joshua Kimmich opened the scoring and Raphael Guerreiro added to the lead five minutes later. Lennart Karl put the final nail to the coffin in the 81st minute as Kompany's men sealed a third win in seven days, following the 2-1 Klassiker win against Borussia Dortmund and the 4-0 Champions League dismantling of Belgian giants Club Brugge.

Matthaus, who won six Bundesliga titles with Bayern and the World Cup with Germany, said on Sky Sport: "With Kompany, we've struck a great deal. Kompany has once again involved the players in his decisions and has spoken clearly, openly, and honestly. He has reinvented FC Bayern after four or five years of turmoil and has done many things the club had missed during those years. If they maintain this level of performance, they'll be one of the big favourites for the Champions League."

The new addition to the senior team, 17-year-old Karl, has now scored in consecutive games. Against Club Brugge, he put on a man of the match display and found the back of the net yet again against Monchengladbach just three minutes after coming off the bench, replacing Luis Diaz. A representative of the German U-17 national team, for whom he has scored seven goals in 13 caps, Karl rose through the Bayern youth academy to finally be integrated into Kompany's squad this season. The manager said about the youngster: "He’s now scored two goals in a row, he’s having a good momentum. When there’s a lot of hype, which is normal at a club like Bayern, the key is to have a calm entourage and to keep working. And when there’s criticism, you keep doing the same thing. Then everything will be fine for Lenny."

Bayern currently sit atop the Bundesliga table with 24 points in eight games. They have the best offensive and defensive record in the competition, with 30 goals scored and just four conceded. However, they will face three sturdy challenges in the upcoming 10 days, which include a game in the DFB-Pokal, a Champions League outing, and a tough Bundesliga fixture too. On October 29, they'll take on Koln in the second round of the domestic cup. After a cooling period of just two days, they'll be back at the Allianz Arena to welcome a new-look Bayer Leverkusen on November 1. Three days later, on November 4, they'll face perhaps the toughest challenge of the season in Luis Enrique's Paris Saint-Germain, who won the Champions League last season and are in red-hot form in the continental competition, sitting in pole position with three wins in as many games and 13 goals scored. Bayern have the same goal difference as the reigning European champions, and will be eager to take a firm grasp of first place when they visit the French capital.