FC Bayern clearly showed their former title rivals Leverkusen the limits in the league summit - without their top scorers. The next game has enormous significance for Munich.
02.11.2025, 12:09
02.11.2025, 12:13
dpa
After the next dominant victory, even without the three top scorers around Harry Kane, who had been spared for a long time, the Bayern stars bounced happily arm in arm in front of their fans. Without Kane and wingers Michael Olise and Luis Díaz, as well as other starting eleven players rested for the big Champions League test against Paris Saint-Germain(live on Tuesday at 9pm on blue Sport), their substitutes convincingly took on the leading roles in the 3-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen. Only one team was on top in the Bundesliga top match.
While Munich won for the 15th time in their 15th competitive game of the season, Leverkusen's league away winless streak came to an end after two-and-a-half years and 37 games. Bayer played without any guts in the Allianz Arena.
"Leverkusen are a top team, they bounced back very well. That's why it's definitely an exclamation mark that we've put down," said Serge Gnabry, adding with regard to the prominent changes in the starting XI: "It's a nice sign from the coach that he trusts everyone. The lads paid him back with their performance."
Coach Vincent Kompany was already looking ahead to the cracker against Paris: "We deserve to go into this game really full of enthusiasm. It has to be rock'n'roll. They have confidence, we have confidence. There's no reason to have ulterior motives, which is the consequence if we win or lose. It's just an awesome game."
Gnabry makes the start on the anniversary
Gnabry in his 250th Bundesliga game (25th minute), Chelsea loanee Nicolas Jackson with his first league goal (31st) and Leverkusen's defensive uncertainty factor Loic Badé with an own goal (44th) created a clear situation at the break in what had been a tingling showdown in recent times.
The attacking power of Kane, Olise and Díaz when they came on after just over an hour was no longer important in determining the winner. Central defender Dayot Upamecano and midfielder Aleksandar Pavlovic were also only on the bench. They were all allowed to take a breather for Tuesday's Premier League clash with defending champions PSG.
Leverkusen's defense overwhelmed
In contrast, there were no breaks for Leverkusen's shaky defense in the Allianz Arena in the first half of the match. The Werkself, who underwent a major upheaval in the summer, showed no sign of the Bayer Leverkusen that, under successful coach Xabi Alonso, had triumphed over FC Bayern as double winners in the 2023/24 season. The visitors surrendered to Munich's superiority without resistance at times.
"In the first half, we weren't in any phase where we stood up to Bayern. If you're 3-0 down at half-time, it's almost impossible to win anything in Munich. (...) We were always too slow overall and Bayern took advantage of that. They're just too good for that, no matter who's playing," said Leverkusen's Robert Andrich and coach Kasper Hjulmand: "Of course we're not happy with the situation. We have a lot to do, a lot of work to do."
Although coach Kasper Hjulmand has stabilized Leverkusen after the failed project with Erik ten Hag, they have now conceded their first league defeat. In the end, Bayern celebrated their first Bundesliga win against Leverkusen in three years.
