5 reasons Bayern Munich will beat Aston Villa in the UEFA Champions League
Unbeaten under Vincent Kompany and with a home final the end goal, six-time UEFA Champions League winners Bayern Munich should have no trouble away to Aston Villa on Matchday 2. bundesliga.com explains why in five bite-sized chunks...
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1) Near perfect so far
It was by no means a given that Kompany, even with the wealth of footballing riches at his disposal, would hit the ground running at Bayern. He'd inherited a team that had finished a distant third to Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen, after all, but what a start it's been! Six games, six wins - by an aggregate score of 29-3 - made it the best start by a Bayern coach in the Bundesliga era. The wounded Bavarians were top of the league, through to the DFB Cup second round and riding the crest of a wave after recording a club record-equalling 9-2 win over Dinamo Zagreb in their Champions League opener. All of a sudden, they're the team to beat all over again... only no-one can. Not even champions Leverkusen, who had to set up their stall to restrict the free-scoring Bavarians to a 1-1 draw at the weekend - their first slip in now seven games under Kompany, but still unbeatable. We've used that word a lot about German teams the past year...
2) Kane doing Kane things
It helps when you have arguably the best striker in world football to call on. Harry Kane hit 44 goals in 45 competitive games across his debut season in Bayern colours. Seven fixtures into 2024/25, he's already plundered 10, whilst chipping in with five assists. The England striker - now his country's record Bundesliga and Champions League goalscorer - can count a hat-trick against Holstein Kiel among that eye-watering haul, as well as a sensational four-goal salvo in the Zagreb rout. Barbie's Ken may never reach a perfect 10, but - sorry, Matt Lucas - Bayern's Kane is unlikely to be trophyless again come May.
Watch: Every Kane goal in the Bundesliga
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3) Musiala magic
From one A-grade performer to another, Jamal Musiala has hit new heights under Kompany. The 21-year-old playmaker - one of the stars of the Germany team that reached the UEFA Euro 2024 quarter-finals - has been virtually unplayable in the No.10 role so far this season. He's had a direct hand in six goals in all competitions, but it's what he does off the ball and when running at opposition defenders that make him such an all-round attacking threat. Much like veteran teammate Thomas Müller, he could be pinned down, shackled and locked in a box, and he'd still find a way to wriggle free.
Watch: Jamal Musiala under the tactical microscope
4) Premier League nous
Musiala is among seven Bayern players who know more than a thing or two about English opposition. As well as the former Chelsea youngster, Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Serge Gnabry (Arsenal & West Bromwich Albion), João Palhinha (Fulham), Leroy Sané (Manchester City), Eric Dier (Tottenham) and electric summer signing Michael Olise (Crystal Palace) all have some sort of Premier League past, while Kompany won four league titles with Man City and coached Burnley. Even though Villa are newcomers to the modern-day Champions League, there'll be nothing they can throw at Bayern that the Bundesliga's record champions haven't seen before.
5) Mission Munich
Bayern will be hoping their trip to Villa Park is the second of a 15-game Champions League campaign that culminates in them hoisting ol' big ears aloft in Munich on 31 May 2025. The Allianz Arena is the venue for this season's final, as it was back in 2011/12, when Bayern suffered final heartache in a penalty shootout defeat to Chelsea. They roared back to win the trophy the following season, though, before repeating the trick under Hansi Flick in 2019/20 to claim their sixth Champions League crown. It's still some way off, but the club's superb early-season form suggests they'll be knocking on the door - their own one at that - in the months ahead.
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