Bayern win at Freiburg without Kompany as squad questions linger

Bayern München won 3–1 at Freiburg on Sunday, and the result will be filed away as another routine title defence. The circumstances around it were anything but routine. Vincent Kompany, the head coach, collapsed at the training ground on Friday and remained in hospital in a stable condition with examinations continuing, according to BBC Sport. Max Eberl, the club's director of sport, said Kompany needs "protecting from himself" and that recovery will take weeks rather than days. Bayern considered asking for the game to be postponed but believed playing and being successful was the best tonic.

So the match became a test of institutional resilience. Bayern passed it on the scoreboard. Dayot Upamecano scored on 16 minutes, Serge Gnabry doubled the lead on 42, and although Tom Bischof's own goal on 82 minutes gave Freiburg a route back into the contest, Michael Olise settled it in the 90th minute. Bayern had 56 per cent possession to Freiburg's 44, and the shot count was almost level: 17 to 16. The difference was in the quality of those shots. Bayern's expected goals figure was 2.91 against Freiburg's 1.01, and they registered nine shots on target to Freiburg's four. The big chances tell the same story: six for Bayern, none for Freiburg.

That is a familiar pattern for a side with Bayern's attacking resources, but it also points to something worth watching. Across their earlier 2026/27 matches in all competitions, Bayern averaged 356.8 passes in the opposition half. At Freiburg they managed 200. Their touches in the opposition box were 22, against an average of 48.6. Their expected goals figure of 2.91 was below their earlier average of 3.56. One match is not a trend, and a win is a win, but the drop in territorial control is notable for a team that usually suffocates opponents.

Some of that can be explained by the absence of the head coach and the emotional weight of the week. Some of it may be structural. The research brief flags the departures of Leon Goretzka, João Palhinha and Alexander Nübel as a candidate explanation for a change in midfield or defensive balance, but the evidence does not confirm their current status. Only Nübel is addressed in the sources: he has had loan spells at AS Monaco and VfB Stuttgart, wants to return to Bayern, and could have his contract terminated. Whether Goretzka and Palhinha are still at the club, and whether their absence or presence has altered the midfield, remains an open question rather than a settled fact.

What the Freiburg match does show is that Bayern can still generate high-quality chances without dominating the ball in the way they normally do. The six big chances and nine shots on target suggest a team that was clinical rather than relentless. Whether that is a sustainable model over a full season, especially with Kompany absent for weeks, is the question the next matches will answer.

Bayern were joint top of the Bundesliga after four wins from their opening six games, chasing a third consecutive title. They entered 2026/27 as defending Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal champions. How those changes affect the balance of the side is not yet clear.

For now, the result at Freiburg is a credit to the players and staff who stepped up in Kompany's absence. But the wider picture — a coach recovering in hospital, a squad in transition, and a team whose territorial dominance dipped in this match — means the coming weeks will test more than Bayern's title credentials. They will test how well the club copes without the man who usually sets the tone.