Kompany: Bayern players 'not that good' despite record start to the season

Vincent Kompany has told his Bayern Munich players they are ''not that good'' and not to believe the hype despite continuing their record-breaking start to the 2025-26 campaign.  

Kompany watched on as his team made it four wins from four Champions League games on Tuesday with a 2-1 victory away to holders Paris Saint-Germain.

Indeed, Bayern have now won 16 consecutive matches across all competitions this season and sit top of both the Bundesliga and the 36-team Champions League table.

They return to domestic action at Stadion An der Alten Forstere on Saturday, where they take on Union Berlin, though Kompany was quick to keep his squad in check.

"I always tell my players, when there's hype, please don't believe it, you're not that good," Kompany said after Bayern's midweek win in the French capital.

"And when you lose a game, or you have a bad performance, don’t believe that you're bad, you're not that bad' — that's something I always keep with me.

"Now we've won 16. But from tomorrow it's back to zero, and we have to win the next game."

Bayern's victory over Luis Enrique's team was made even more impressive after Luis Diaz was sent off in first-half stoppage time for a lunge on Achraf Hakimi.

Diaz had scored twice in the first half, and despite Joao Neves reducing the deficit late on, Bayern were able to hold on to maintain their perfect record in the competition.

Their next assignment in UEFA's flagship tournament sees them take on Arsenal, who have also won their first four games in Europe, but have done so without conceding a goal.

Inter are the only other team with a perfect record thus far, and Joshua Kimmich believes their clash with the Gunners will be a true measure of this Bayern team.

"We are first and have Arsenal in the next game," Kimmich said. "Then we can see once again where we stand.

"But in Paris, especially the first half, we were already outstandingly good. We were incredibly resilient, had many really good chances, and were physically very present.

"I must say, the first half was one of the most intense halves of my career, of both teams, this constant man-on-man game, and in the second half it felt even more intense."

Bayern take on a Union side that have endured a mixed start to their Bundesliga campaign, having taken 11 points from their nine league games, finding themselves in 10th.

They were held to a goalless draw away to Freiburg last time out, but Steffen Baumgart's team have never gone more than two games unbeaten in the top-fight so far in 2025-26.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Union Berlin – Andrej Ilic

Union will be without their suspended captain, Christopher Trimmel – his 22 chances created this Bundesliga season are only surpassed by RB Leipzig's David Raum (26).

However, that creative spark can be provided by Andrej Ilic, given he has registered a team-high total for goal involvements (four assists).

But no player in the Bundesliga is underperforming their expected goals (xG) by a bigger margin than Ilic (-3.4, 0 goals at 3.4 xG), but he will be out to change that here. 

Bayern Munich – Luis Diaz

Since his summer switch from Liverpool, Diaz has been in sensational form, albeit his red card against PSG in midweek overshadowed his stunning display at the Parc des Princes.

Indeed, the Colombian has been involved in 15 goals in his 15 starts for Bayern Munich in all competitions, scoring 10 and assisting five.

It was only the second time he's scored more than once in a Champions League game, after a hat-trick for Liverpool against Bayer Leverkusen last season.

MATCH PREDICTION: BAYERN MUNICH WIN

Bayern have not lost any of their 12 Bundesliga matches against Union (eight wins, four draws) – in their top-flight history, no other club has played against an opponent so often without suffering a single defeat.

Kompany's team were also only the second team in Bundesliga history to start a season with nine wins – now Bayern could equal their own top-flight record, having started with 10 wins in 2015-16 under Pep Guardiola.

And they will be confident of doing so given their attacking firepower. They have scored at least twice in each of their last 17 league matches. In Bundesliga history, only Bayern themselves have managed a longer such run (20 matches) in 2013-14.

The last time Bayern failed to score at least twice was against their upcoming opponents Union, however, which came in a 1-1 away draw in March of this year.

Union, meanwhile, have already failed to score five times in this Bundesliga season – a joint league high and equalling their most after nine Bundesliga matches (as in 2023-24).

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Union Berlin – 11.9%

Draw – 16.1%

Bayern Munich – 72%