Bayern Munich secured its place at the top of the Bundesliga even before the halfway mark of the season. The 1-0 victory over Borussia Mönchengladbach on Saturday sealed their leadership and showed consistency and strength from this Bavarian squad under Vincent Kompany. Though "winter champion" is a status that does not exist, a clear message is delivered with it: Bayern will not give away the German Championship.
Follow Playing for 90 on X (Twitter).
Bayern, "winter champion"
For Bayern, being the first in the Bundesliga halfway through the season is nothing new. The club earned their 27th "winter champion" title. However, this fact isn't a simple statistical detail. Traditionally, a team that leads the field after the 17 rounds gets the championship in 88 percent of all cases. Since the three-points-per-win rule was introduced, Bayern has gone on to be crowned champions in 16 out of the 17 times they led the standings at the midseason stage. The only exception came in 2012 when Borussia Dortmund overtook the Bavarians.
Victory over Gladbach
The match against Borussia Mönchengladbach at Borussia-Park was a perfect snapshot of what Bayern is: a team in absolute control of the game, even when the going gets tough. From the first whistle, FCB pressed hard and created chances. Harry Kane, who continues to be important in attack, scored the only goal of the match with a penalty in the second half.
Bayern dominated, but couldn't find a way of turning control into a broader margin. Clear chances for Müller, Goretzka, and Sané were innumerable but continually thwarted by an inspired Gladbach goalkeeper in Moritz Nicolas. The precision of passing, especially from Kimmich, and the creativity of Coman cut through time after time, yet Bayern had to be satisfied with the slender margin. It was, nonetheless, a good and solid performance.
The challenge of Gladbach and the brilliance of Nicolas
Bayern's victory over Borussia Mönchengladbach had everything one would want: lots of dominance from the Bavarians, but definitely not a flop for the visiting team. Hosts really stubborn, dangerous, especially after the break. Again, Kleindienst and Elvedi were the two closest to equalizing, while their goalkeeper Nicolas had many spectacular saves that maintained his team right until the very end.
The problem for Gladbach, though, was that their passive start came at a price. Allowing Bayern to dictate the rhythm from the outset ultimately invited the visitors to take control. By the time they improved in the second half, the damage had already been done.
Bundesliga standings
Bayern will, therefore, look to carry on with their winning momentum as they hunt for yet another championship title, while Gladbach is currently positioned in 10th place and needs to find consistency in order to move up the table and avoid troubles in the second half of the season.