This week’s action saw Vincent Kompany’s men roll on, surprise results and a brilliant performance from a Liverpool defender

• Vincent Kompany’s Bayern Munich. They rule supreme in Germany and are on a 16-match winning streak. Beating the defending champions, Paris Saint-Germain, on Tuesday was further proof of Bayern’s credentials. Luís Diaz, whose combativeness is sorely missed by Liverpool, scored two, but he took the aggression too far when his challenge on Achraf Hakimi led to a first-half red card. That meant the second half became a test of defensive credentials that Bayern passed. “I also want us to enjoy it when we have to defend,” said Kompany. He was by no means his club’s first-choice as coach in the summer of 2024 – relegation from the Premier League with Burnley had damaged his reputation. But in Bavaria, the noise from the boardroom has been quelled – for now – by the brilliance of his team’s play.

Forward has had historic start to career in Germany but will his style stand up against PSG’s system-driven philosophy?

Harry Kane is a perfect fit for Bayern Munich. He is tailor-made for the Bundesliga, which has been the top league in Europe in terms of goals scored for years. German football is characterised by exchanges of punches, with the ball moving back and forth and plenty of chances on both sides; and Bayern are in the penalty area more often than any other team. Because Kane is confident and precise in front of goal and uses his height and heading ability to his advantage from corners and free-kicks, he scores like nowhere else.

The statistics are fantastic, with his scoring rate in the Bundesliga more than one-and-a-half times better than in the Premier League and for the national team. He has scored more goals (74) than he has played games (72) in the Bundesliga, significantly surpassing Gerd Müller’s record (0.85).

Vincent Kompany’s side continued their magnificent form to end opponents’ record-breaking away run

If it was going to end, it was always likely to end here. That it was going to end exactly like this, though, was not so predictable. Bayer Leverkusen arrived at the Allianz Arena on a run of 37 Bundesliga away games unbeaten, and they never looked like extending it. You will forgive the Bundesliga neutral for mourning not the loss of an incredible record-breaking sequence which stretched back to 27 May 2023 – when Xabi Alonso’s team were heavily beaten by relegation-battling Bochum – but the demise of a competitor to Bayern Munich not seen since Jürgen Klopp’s Borussia Dortmund were in their thrilling pomp.

This was less an authentic Topspiel and more a piercing afterparty hangover, a tough supermarket-bread pretzel and lukewarm coffee, a Monday morning letter from HMRC, a black and white declaration of unavoidable dues owed. All of which, of course, was great for Bayern as they limbered up for this week’s Champions League meeting (a real-deal Topspiel) against holders Paris Saint-Germain, with the recently re-signed Vincent Kompany able to show the authority and pragmatism that led him to this point by leaving Harry Kane, Luis Díaz and Michael Olise on the substitutes’ bench.