Guerreiro’s First Bayern Goal Fuels Eight-Win Charge in Germany

Bayern’s relentless start to the new German season is reverberating well beyond Bavaria, and nowhere is the buzz louder than in Portugal. Raphaël Guerreiro, the luso-French full-back who lifted the Euro 2016 trophy with the Seleção, has just scored his first Bundesliga goal in almost a year, sealing a commanding 3-0 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach and stretching the champions’ flawless run to eight league victories. With Vincent Kompany’s side on 24 points and already 5 ahead of RB Leipzig, Lisbon cafés are once again debating whether this Bayern can chase history—and what role a boy who learned football at Caen but chose Portugal will play in it.

Portuguese Footprints in Bavaria’s Perfect Run

Few Portuguese internationals have lasted long in Munich, yet Guerreiro’s assist-turned-goal on Saturday has injected new intrigue for viewers on the western edge of Europe. After logging just 70 Bundesliga minutes across the first 7 rounds, the 29-year-old defender entered the Gladbach clash determined to justify Kompany’s faith. His strike on 69′—a left-footed curler into the far corner—arrived in front of a travelling contingent of Bayern fans waving a green-and-red flag with the words “Orgulho Luso”. Back in Portugal, national-team coach Roberto Martínez, who has experimented with Nuno Mendes in midfield, will note that the versatile lateral-esquerdo is regaining match rhythm in time for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers next spring.

Gladbach Tamed After Early Red Card

The contest at Borussia-Park turned on 19′ when midfielder Jens Castrop’s studs caught Luis Díaz high on the ankle, earning a straight red after video review. Reduced to ten men, Gladbach retreated behind the ball, but Bayern initially misfired despite 79 % possession. Relief arrived on 64′ as Joshua Kimmich drilled a low shot through a maze of legs. Guerreiro doubled the margin 5 minutes later, and academy prospect Lennart Karl added gloss on 81′. The hosts squandered their lone lifeline when Kevin Stöger rattled the post from the spot, ensuring Manuel Neuer’s fourth clean sheet of the campaign.

Numbers Behind Kompany’s High-Octane Bayern

Under Vincent Kompany, hired in 2024, Bayern have become an exercise in controlled aggression: 38 goals in 11 official matches, a staggering 30-4 differential in the Bundesliga alone, and a 13-game winning streak across all fronts. Statistical models compiled by Opta place Munich’s expected-goals tally at 2.9 per game, the highest in Europe’s top 5 leagues. Meanwhile, their PPDA (passes per defensive action) has shrunk to 7.2, illustrating the ruthless high press led by front-men Harry Kane and Michael Olise. In Kompany’s hybrid 4-2-2-2, full-backs invert, turning possession phases into a 3-2-5 that suffocates opposition counterplay.

Guerreiro’s Season: From Bench Minutes to Scoreboard Impact

Before Saturday, Guerreiro’s Bundesliga line read zero goals, one assist and a string of cameos: 4′ at Augsburg, 18′ against Hamburg, 29′ versus Bremen, 19′ in Frankfurt. Kompany nevertheless values his ability to glide inside, forming triangles with Kimmich and Aleksandar Pavlović. The Gladbach goal may secure a larger role, especially with Alphonso Davies nursing a minor hamstring issue. Inside the club, staff praise Guerreiro’s football IQ, noting how he “coaches” teenage winger Arijon Ibrahimović during training by adjusting pressing triggers in Portuguese, French and German.

What This Streak Means for the Bundesliga Race

Historically, eight straight wins are not unprecedented—Borussia Dortmund’s 10-game surge in 2011 remains the modern benchmark—but they establish psychological distance. RB Leipzig sit on 19 points, while Leverkusen, champions in 2024 after a record 34-game unbeaten run, already trail by 7. The calendar, however, tightens: Bayern host Inter mid-week in the Champions League before facing Union Berlin and Stuttgart, two sides comfortable absorbing pressure. Should the winning sequence reach double digits, Bundesliga archivists will dust off Pep Guardiola’s 2014 streaks for comparison.

Looking Ahead: Could Records Fall?

Kompany insists “the table in autumn is just a snapshot,” yet internal goals are bolder. The club hierarchy has renewed the Belgian’s contract until 2029, referencing Arrigo Sacchi’s Milan 1992/93 as the only other side in the big-five leagues to open a season with 13 straight victories. To eclipse Bayern’s own 53-match unbeaten record set under Jupp Heynckes and Guardiola a decade ago, the current squad would need to avoid defeat until February 2027. Far-fetched? Perhaps. But Portuguese fans who watched Guerreiro whip one into the Gladbach net know momentum can snowball quickly in Munich, and the next chapter may well unfold with a Portuguese accent along the left touch-line.