Source: The Guardian Sport
Serge Gnabry (left) continued his revival with the opening goal in Bayern Munich’s win over Bayer Leverkusen.Photograph: Marcel Engelbrecht/firo sportphoto/Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenSerge Gnabry (left) continued his revival with the opening goal in Bayern Munich’s win over Bayer Leverkusen.Photograph: Marcel Engelbrecht/firo sportphoto/Getty ImagesBundesligaLeverkusen’s capitulation at Bayern confirms demise of an engaging rivalryVincent Kompany’s side continued their magnificent form to end opponents’ record-breaking away runAndy BrassellMon 3 Nov 2025 07.06 ESTLast modified on Mon 3 Nov 2025 07.16 ESTShareIf it was going to end, it was always likely to end here. That it was going to end exactly like this, though, was not so predictable. Bayer Leverkusen arrived at the Allianz Arena on a run of 37 Bundesliga away games unbeaten, and they never looked like extending it. You will forgive the Bundesliga neutral for mourning not the loss of an incredible record-breaking sequence which stretched back to 27 May 2023 – whenXabi Alonso’s teamwere heavily beaten by relegation-battling Bochum – but the demise of a competitor to Bayern Munich not seen since Jürgen Klopp’s Borussia Dortmund were in their thrilling pomp.European football: Rashford seals Barça win, Milan edge Roma to join title raceRead moreThis was less an authenticTopspieland more a piercing afterparty hangover, a tough supermarket-bread pretzel and lukewarm coffee, a Monday morning letter from HMRC, a black and white declaration of unavoidable dues owed. All of which, of course, was great for Bayern as they limbered up for this week’s Champions League meeting (a real dealTopspiel) against holders Paris Saint-Germain, with the recently re-signed Vincent Kompany able to show the authority and pragmatism that led him to this point by leaving Harry Kane, Luis Díaz and Michael Olise on the substitutes’ bench.This is no criticism of Kompany or Bayern, who have earned the right to manage the resources of hardly their biggest squad in recent memory as they see fit. After dispatching the 2024 champions – or what’s left of them – Bayern’s record for the season stands at a magnificent 15 games, 15 wins.In many ways this latest one was Kompany’s governance of the campaign in microcosm: the revival of Serge Gnabry, who scored the opener midway through the first half; the make-do-and-mend approach which is successful enough to look anything but with Konrad Laimer and now young Tom Bischof excelling in the full-back positions (they assisted the first two goals, with Laimer laying on a firstBundesligastrike for Nicolas Jackson); the status to leave out the likes of Kane and it not being a big issue. They remained impossible to contain, racing into a 3-0 half-time lead which they never relinquished. The coach has, in the words of Süddeutsche Zeitung’s Martin Schneider, “transformed Bayern back into a beast”.View image in fullscreenVincent Kompany began with Harry Kane, Luis Díaz and Michael Olise…
Published: 2025-11-03T12:06:20
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