Bayern Munich finally drop points – Union Berlin end unbelievable win streak at 16 games

2-2 draw 

©IMAGO

The winning streak has come to an end. Bayern Munich’s dominance over European football has been incredible over the last few months. For 16 games straight, Bayern raced from victory to victory, first breaking and then setting a record for most wins to start the season. On Wednesday, Paris Saint-Germain became the latest victim, falling 2-1 to the German record champions. But tonight, against Union Berlin, the winning, at least for now, has stopped as the capital club held Bayern to a 2-2 draw in front of 22,012 fans at Die Alte Försterei thanks to a brace by Danilho Doekhi (27′ & 83′).

Perhaps the games have finally caught up to Bayern Munich. After matchday 10 in the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich are second in the league with 1219.9km covered. Only Hoffenheim (1230.9km) have covered more distance. Furthermore, Bayern are third in the league with 1700 sprints and second in the league with 7024 intensive runs. Both stats are usually led by teams in mid-table or relegation candidates. In other words, Vincent Kompany’s football is extremely physical and running-intensive.

That was also evident midweek against PSG, when Bayern outran their opponents despite being a man down. On Saturday against Union Berlin, who outran their opponents by more than six kilometres, Bayern looked jaded and tired. “It feels a bit like two lost points,” Union head coach Steffen Baumgart said after the game. “We battled hard and saw a very good football match.” Certainly, Union Berlin were excellent. But Bayern also struggled. Where Bayern played smooth, elegant football for most of the season, Union made them work hard, and many of their actions appeared laborious. Indeed, a pass completion rate of 88% seemed low for Bayern Munich’s standards. 

Bayern rescue a draw – Harry Kane and Luis Díaz brilliant

“The first 30 minutes weren’t good enough from us,” Kompany said. “We weren’t good in the first half, and then details decided. The last 60 minutes weren’t bad, but we played against an opponent that did everything right.” The only reason they managed to still walk away with a point was thanks to the individual performances by Luis Díaz and Harry Kane. The Colombian scored a spectacular goal from the byline after a wonderful one-two with Josip Stanišić (38′). “We needed that moment by him,” Kompany said. “We have that quality in our team and we need it to reach our goals.” Then, deep into extra time, Kane scored an excellent header after a fantastic cross by Tom Bischof deep into injury time. For the Englishman, it was the 13th goal in ten Bundesliga games and the 26th goal in 22 games across all competitions. Without a doubt, the Englishman is in incredible form.

As for Bayern’s record. At 16 games, Bayern have set a new incredible benchmark. The record was previously held by AC Milan, who won 13 games to start the season in 1992/93. So how does Bayern’s new record to start the season stack up to other winning streaks to kick off seasons among the top clubs in Europe’s top five leagues? Behind Milan, the third-longest winning streak to start the season across the top five league teams was 11 wins. Borussia Dortmund managed to do it in 2015/16, and Real Madrid did so in 1968/69 and 1961/62. Four teams started the season with 10 wins across all competitions. Juventus in 2018/19, Manchester City in 2016/17, AS Roma in 2013/14, and Hamburger SV in 2005/06.