Luis Díaz celebrates the first of his two Bayern Munich goals against PSG. (Photo by Crystal Pix/MB Media/Getty Images)
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Now it is 16 games and counting. After beating Leverkusen on Saturday 3-0, Bayern has extended its record for most wins to start the season to an incredible 16 games with a 2-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain.
For some time, though, Bayern’s winning streak finally seemed to come to an end with Luis Díaz becoming the tragic hero. The Colombian forward scored a brace to give Bayern Munich the lead (4’ & 34’) but was then sent off for a reckless challenge on Achraf Hakimi.
“We showed in the first half that we were the better team,” Bayern Munich captain and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer said after the game. “In the second half, things were different due to the red card. We had to fight with ten men.”
The goalkeeper, in fact, was a major reason Bayern maintained their record as the only team in Europe to have won every competitive game this season. The 39-year-old goalkeeper made several crucial saves and was voted the player of the match by UEFA following the game.
Indeed, it would have been interesting to see what would have happened without the red card. After all, Bayern was in complete control and should have shipped three or four past a PSG side that seemed completely out of depth.
“We were able to hurt them in the first half,” Bayern midfielder Joshua Kimmich said when asked about Bayern’s dominant performance in the first 45 minutes. “We didn’t necessarily have a lot of possession, but we created chances. We were very present physically. It was one of the most intense halves I’ve played in my career.”
Luis Díaz was sent off for a brutal challenge of Achraf Hakimi. (Photo by Xavier Laine/Getty Images)
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Sure, PSG supporters will argue that this team was without Désiré Doué and that Ousmane Dembélé had to come off injured. But Bayern is also missing crucial players, including Jamal Musiala, who was injured by former PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma at the FIFA Club World Cup this summer.
Also still missing are Alphonso Davies and Hiroki Ito. Both would be crucial for this team. Still, Bayern has been absolutely dominant across all competitions.
This game, though, they had to dig in to get the job done. One player down, Bayern still managed an almost perfect performance, seeing out a win that will see them go top at the UEFA Champions League group stage standings until at least tomorrow.
“We practiced such situations in training and were prepared,” Neuer said after the game when asked about having to play a man down. “It wasn’t easy for our attackers in the second half because they were outnumbered. But we defended very well.”
Defensively, it was certainly a masterclass, even if Bayern struggled to create chances. “In the second half, we didn’t have much going forward, but we defended really well,” Kimmich said. “It’s not like they pinned us in our box and had big chances; they mostly had long shots, apart from João Neves’ header.”
Indeed, it was interesting seeing this Bayern team react to the situation. For the first time this season, the club faced adversity, and on balance, Bayern not only handled it well but came out of the contest with flying colors.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/manuelveth/2025/11/04/bayern-munich-continues-record-start-with-win-over-psg/
