The 2015–16 season was the 117th in the history of FC Bayern Munich. The season was the first since 2001–02 without Bastian Schweinsteiger, who departed to Manchester United in the summer of 2015.
Background
Background information
Bayern won their third consecutive (25th overall) Bundesliga championship in the 2014–15 season. Bayern also won the DFB-Pokal by beating Borussia Dortmund but were knocked out of Champions League in the semifinals by Barcelona. and Dortmund defeated Bayern in the German Super Cup. Pep Guardiola didn't extend his contract and Carlo Ancelotti will replace him for the 2016–17 season.
Pre-season
Pre-season overview Pre-season started on 1 July. It was confirmed that Bayern, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Hamburger SV and FC Augsburg will participate in the 2015 Telekom Cup on 12 July at Borussia-Park in Mönchengladbach. Bayern finished fourth in the tournament after losing to FC Augsburg in the semi-final and losing to Borussia Mönchengladbach in a shootout in the third place match. Then Bayern will have an eight-day tour in China. They will have the "Audi Summer Tour" in China. The tour will be held in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. The first match was held on 18 July in Beijing against Valencia, which Bayern won 4–1. The second match took place on 21 July in Shanghai against Inter Milan, which Bayern won 1–0. The final match took place on 23 July in Guanghzou against Guangzhou Evergrande, which Bayern lost in a shootout. Three days after their first competitive match, Bayern played in the Audi Cup against Real Madrid, Milan, and Tottenham Hotspur. Bayern's semifinal opponent was Milan. Bayern won the match 3–0 on 4 August. Joshua Kimmich came off after 20 minutes after a foul from Nigel de Jong. Guardiola was upset with the foul. Guardiola and De Jong were in a "shouting match in the tunnel." Real Madrid defeated Tottenham prior to Bayern's match to set up the final against Bayern. The following day, Bayern won the final 1–0. Bayern faced Dynamo Dresden in a friendly match on 17 August which Bayern won 3–1. Bayern will face Red Power fan club in the Dream Game in Deggendorf on 30 August.
Pre-season friendly matches Date Opponent Goalscorers and disciplined players Bayern Munich Opponent 18 July N Valencia 4–1 Müller Thiago Lewandowski Rodrigo 21 July N Inter Milan 1–0 Götze — 23 July A Guangzhou Evergrande 0–0 Rafinha — Penalties Müller Alonso Boateng Douglas Costa Thiago Paulinho Kim Young-gwon Yu Hanchao Zhao Xuri Feng Xiaoting
Pre-season tournaments DateKick–off Venue Opponent Goalscorers and disciplined players Bayern Munich Opponent Telekom Cup 12 July A FC Augsburg 1–2 Thiago Esswein Hong 12 July A Borussia Mönchengladbach 0–0 — Ritter Penalties Alaba Lahm Kimmich Højbjerg Benko Stindl Ndenge Dahoud Brouwers Audi Cup 4 August H Milan 3–0 Bernat Götze Lewandowski — 5 August H Real Madrid 1–0 Alonso Benatia Lewandowski Marcelo Ramos
Transfers Joshua Kimmich, Sven Ulreich, Douglas Costa, and Arturo Vidal transferred to Bayern. Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, Jan Kirchhoff, and Julian Green returned to Bayern after loan spells at other clubs. Højbjerg was later loaned out to Schalke 04. Kingsley Coman was loaned in for two years from Juventus. Bayern can make the loan permanent. Mitchell Weiser and Claudio Pizarro left Bayern after their contracts expired. Pepe Reina left Bayern after he asked for his release. Rico Strieder, who made his professional debut with Bayern during the 2014–15 season, was sold to Utrecht. Bayern announced on 11 July that they have agreed to the terms of a transfer with Manchester United over Bastian Schweinsteiger. The deal was completed on 13 July. He had been at Bayern for 17 years. Dante was sold to VfL Wolfsburg. Memphis Depay stated that he turned down Bayern to join Manchester United. During mid–winter training, Bayern sold Sinan Kurt and Jan Kirchhoff and loaned out Gianluca Gaudino. On 1 February, Bayern loaned in Serdar Tasci for the remainder of the season.
Mid-season training
Mid-season training overview Bayern came back from the Christmas break on 4 January and will have a mid–season training camp in Qatar from 6 January to 12 January. Bayern sold Sinan Kurt and Jan Kirchhoff and loaned out Gianluca Gaudino. In their only match during the mid–season training, Bayern lost 2–1 to Karlsruher SC. Jérôme Boateng was sent–off in the match.
Mid-season friendlies Date Opponent Goalscorers and disciplined players Bayern Munich Opponent 17 August A Dynamo Dresden 3–1 Robben Vidal Bernat Testroet 30 August A Fanclub Red Power 5–0 Green Weihrauch Gaudino Rode — 3 September A Jahn Regensburg 1–3 Scholl Pusch George Ziereis 9 November A Paulaner Traumelf 6–1 Lahm Weihrauch Lappe Reimann Scholl Maier 16 January A Karlsruher SC 1–2 Vidal Boateng Friedl Barry Nazarov
Bundesliga
Bundesliga review
August Bayern opened their Bundesliga season with three wins in August against Hamburger SV, 1899 Hoffenheim and Bayer Leverkusen. On 14 August, which was the opening fixture of the league season, Bayern won 5–0 with two goals from Thomas Müller and a goal each from Medhi Benatia, Robert Lewandowski and Douglas Costa. Bayern were in first place after the matchday was completed. The second match, on 22 August, was a 2–1 win against 1899 Hoffenheim. Thomas Müller and Robert Lewandowski scored for Bayern and Kevin Volland scored for Hoffenheim, which was scored in record time. The goal was scored after nine seconds which equaled Karim Bellarabi. Jérôme Boateng was sent off after receiving a second yellow card. Eugen Polanski miss the subsequent penalty shot. Bayern finished the matchday in second place. The third match, on 29 August, was a 3–0 win against Bayer Leverkusen. Thomas Müller, who played in his 200th Bundesliga match, scored two goals, one from the penalty spot, and another goal from the penalty spot by Arjen Robben. Boateng was suspended for the match. Bayern finished the matchday in second place.
September Bayern extended their winning streak to seven wins from seven league matches when they defeated FC Augsburg, Darmstadt 98, VfL Wolfsburg and Mainz 05. The fourth win came in a 2–1 win against Augsburg on 12 September. Alexander Esswein gave Augsburg the lead in 43rd minute. Robert Lewandwski equalized in the 77th minute and Thomas Müller gave Bayern all three points when he scored from the penalty spot after Markus Feulner was called for a foul on Douglas Costa. The following day, Knut Kircher, who refereed the match, stated that he relied on his assistant referee and the decision was incorrect. Kingsley Coman made his debut for Bayern. Bayern finished the matchday in second place. In the fifth win, on 19 September, Bayern defeated Darmstadt 98 3–0 with goals from Arturo Vidal, Kingsley Coman and Sebastian Rode. Coman got his first start and first goal for Bayern. Vidal got his first league goal and second in all competitions. Bayern remained in second place. The sixth win came in a 5–1 win against Wolfsburg on 22 September. Daniel Caligiuri gave Wolfsburg the lead in the 26th minute. Lewandowski, however, scored five goals in nine minutes. Lewandowski came on in the 46th minute and scored in the 51st, 52nd, 55th, 57th, and 60th minutes. He became the fastest player to score five goals. Bayern finished the matchday in first place. The seventh win came in a 3–0 win against Mainz 05 on 25 September. Bayern got two goals from Lewandowski and a goal from Coman. Bayern finished the matchday in first place.
October Bayern extended their winning streak to ten wins when they defeated Borussia Dortmund, Werder Bremen, and 1. FC Köln. The winning streak finished against Eintracht Frankfurt. The "European major league record" for the best start to a season was Tottenham Hotspur with 11-straight wins in 1960. In their eighth straight win on 4 October, Bayern defeated Borussia Dortmund 5–1. Bayern got two goals from Thomas Müller, including one from the penalty mark, and two from Robert Lewandowski, which brought his total to 12 goals in his last four matches in all competitions, and a goal from Mario Götze. Bayern finished the matchday in first place. In their ninth victory, on 17 October, Bayern defeated Werder Bremen 1–0 with a goal from Thomas Müller. Miloš Pantović made his Bundesliga debut in the match. Bayern remained in first place. Then, on 24 October, Bayern got their 10th win out of 10 league matches, and their 1,000th Bundesliga win, when they defeated Köln 4–0. Arjen Robben, Arturo Vidal, Robert Lewandowski, and Thomas Müller scored for Bayern. Bayern remained in first place. On 30 October, Bayern's ten–match winning streak finished when the match against Eintracht Frankfurt finished in a 0–0 draw. During the match, Bayern received two yellow cards and Eintracht Frankfurt received four. Bayern had won their previous six matches against Eintracht Frankfurt. Bayern finished the matchday in first place.
November In November, Bayern extended their undefeated streak to 14 matches after defeating VfB Stuttgart Schalke 04, and Hertha BSC. On 7 November, Bayern extended their undefeated streak to 12 matches after their defeated VfB Stuttgart 4–0 with goals from Arjen Robben, Douglas Costa, Robert Lewandowski, and Thomas Müller. Holger Badstuber made his comeback after he came in for Müller in the 59th minute. He had been out for 200 days. Bayern remained in first place. Bayern extended their undefeated streak to 13 matches on 21 November after defeating Schalke 04 3–1. Bayern got goals from an own goal from Leon Goretzka and goals from Javi Martínez and Thomas Müller. Max Meyer scored for Schalke. Bayern remained in first place and extended their lead to eight points after Borussia Dortmund lost the previous day. Bayern extended their undefeated streak to 14 matches after a 2–0 win against Hertha BSC. Bayern got goals from Thomas Müller and Kingsley Coman. Bayern remained in first place.
December On 5 December, Bayern's undefeated streak came to an end after Borussia Mönchengladbach defeated Bayern 3–1. Bayern had 13 wins and a draw coming into the match. Franck Ribéry scored for Bayern. Oscar Wendt, Lars Stindl, and Fabian Johnson scored for Borussia Mönchengladbach. All three of their goals came within a 14-minute period. This was Ribéry's first match since March 2015. Bayern remained in first place. However, Bayern's lead dropped to five points after Borussia Dortmund defeated Wolfsburg later in the day. Bayern defeated FC Ingolstadt 2–0 with goals from Robert Lewandowski and Philipp Lahm on 12 December. Lewandowski scored in the 65th minute from a tight angle and Lahm scored his first goal of the season in the 75th minute. Ingolstadt have several chances to score. Ingolstadt were offside six times and Manuel Neuer had to make several saves during the match. Bayern became "autumn champions" after finishing the matchday in first place. On 19 December, Bayern went on winter break after defeating Hannover 96 1–0 with a goal from the penalty mark from Thomas Müller. Bayern Munich finishedthe matchday in first place and the first half of the league season with 15 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss. Bayern increased their lead to eight points after Köln defeated Borussia Dortmund on the same day.
January On 22 January, Bayern kicked off the second half of the league season with a 2–1 win over Hamburg. Robert Lewandowski scored two goals and Xabi Alonso scored an own goal. Bayern remained in first place. Then on 31 January, Bayern defeated 1899 Hoffenheim 2–0 with two goals from Robert Lewandowski. With the win, Bayern maintained their perfect home record and their first place status. The following day, Bayern agreed to a loan deal for Serdar Tasci.
February