Bayern München vs GNK Dinamo facts

Bayern München kick off the new league phase of the UEFA Champions League at home to GNK Dinamo, who are beginning their latest quest to reach the competition's knockout rounds.

While Bayern are in the Champions League proper for the 17th season in succession – all of those campaigns extending into at least the round of 16 – Dinamo are making only their third appearance in eight campaigns and finished fourth in their section in each of their last seven.

Previous meetings

Matches 2
Bayern wins 2
Dinamo wins 0
Draws 0
Bayern goals 7
Dinamo goals 0

2015/16 UEFA Champions League group stage
Bayern 5-0 Dinamo
Robert Lewandowski did the bulk of the damage for Josep Guardiola's Bayern in Munich on Matchday 2, completing his hat-trick, and the scoring, early in the second half (21, 28, 55). Douglas Costa's 13th-minute goal had given Bayern the lead, with Mario Götze (25) getting the third against a Dinamo side coached by Zoran Mamić.

Dinamo 0-2 Bayern
Two more Lewandowski goals in four second-half minutes (61, 64) made it five wins in six in the section for the German side, Thomas Müller drilling a late penalty against the post.

Form guide

Bayern

Record vs Croatian clubs: W2 D0 L0 F7 A0
Home record vs Croatian clubs: W1 D0 L0

Those two games against Dinamo in 2015 are Bayern's only previous fixtures against a Croatian club.

Bayern have featured in the Champions League proper in every season since 2008/09, reaching the knockout rounds in each one of those campaigns.

Overall, this is Bayern's 28th campaign in the Champions League proper, level with Porto and fewer only than Barcelona and Real Madrid (both 29).

Bayern are unbeaten in a record 40 Champions League group matches (W36 D4) and had won 17 successive group games, also a competition best, before being held 0-0 at home by Copenhagen on Matchday 5 last season.

That was the only game in the 2023/24 group stage the German side failed to win. They then edged past Lazio (3-1 aggregate) and Arsenal (3-2 agg) in the knockout rounds and looked set to reach the final as they led 1-0 at Real Madrid and 3-2 on aggregate heading into the closing stages of their semi-final, only for the Spanish side to score in the 88th and 91st minutes to progress instead.

The six-time European champions have reached the quarter-finals or better in 12 of their last 13 Champions League campaigns, the exception a last-16 elimination by Liverpool in 2018/19.

Bayern have won 20 of their last 25 home Champions League games, drawing four – the only loss a 2-3 reverse to Paris Saint-Germain in the 2020/21 quarter-final first leg.

A side coached by Thomas Tuchel also relinquished their hold on the Bundesliga title in 2023/24, finishing third behind Bayer Leverkusen – who were 18 points ahead of Bayern – and Stuttgart. It was the first time Bayern had failed to win the title since 2011/12 and their lowest league placing since 2010/11, when they were also third.

Tuchel was replaced by Vincent Kompany in the summer.

Dinamo

Record vs German clubs: W0 D2 L10 F9 A28
Away record vs German clubs: W0 D1 L5

Those 2015 games against Bayern are Dinamo's last fixtures against a German club.

The Matchday 6 loss to Bayern in Zagreb made it six successive defeats by Bundesliga sides, the last three without scoring.

A 1-1 draw at Stuttgart in the 1988/89 UEFA Cup second round second leg – a tie Dinamo lost 2-4 on aggregate – is the only time the Croatian team have avoided defeat in their six visits to Germany. They conceded 13 goals in those six matches, scoring three.

Dinamo have reached the Champions League proper for a ninth time and a first since 2022/23, when they finished fourth on four points in a section that also included Chelsea, AC Milan and Salzburg.

The Zagreb club kicked off this season in the play-offs, where they eased past Qarabağ of Azerbaijan, winning 3-0 at home and 2-0 away.

Dinamo lost 3-4 on aggregate to AEK Athens in last season's Champions League third qualifying round and were then beaten 4-5 over two legs by Sparta Praha in the UEFA Europa League qualifying play-off. That took them into the UEFA Europa Conference League group stage, where they finished second in their section behind Viktoria Plzeň but ahead of Astana and Ballkani having won three games and lost three; they edged out Spain's Real Betis in the knockout round play-offs (1-0 a, 1-1 h) before losing an eventful last-16 tie against PAOK (2-0 h, 1-5 a).

The Croatian club have won two of their last three European away games (L1), as many as in their previous ten (D1 L7).

Dinamo claimed a record 25th Croatian league title in 2023/24, their seventh successive triumph, to make it 35 league titles overall. They also lifted the Croatian Cup to win a 13th domestic double, and a first in three seasons.

Links and trivia

Leon Goretzka and Marko Pjaca were Schalke team-mates in 2018.

International team-mates:
Josip Stanišić & Bruno Petković, Marko Pjaca, Martin Baturina, Petar Sučić (Croatia)

Latest news

Bayern

Vincent Kompany's side have three wins from three in this season's Bundesliga, triumphing 6-1 at Holstein Kiel on Saturday.

Jamal Musiala's opening goal was timed at 14 seconds, Bayern's third quickest in the German top flight.

Harry Kane hit three goals, making it 40 league in 35 appearances for Bayern – a tally that includes five hat-tricks. He has scored against all 18 Bundesliga clubs he has faced.

Kane has been directly involved in 50 league goals in only 35 games for Bayern (40 goals, 10 assists), the quickest to the half-century in Bundesliga history; Erling Haaland's tally of 44 games was the previous record.

On 25 August Bayern prevailed 3-2 in Wolfsburg before winning 2-0 against Freiburg a week later.

Substitute Thomas Müller scored the second goal against Freiburg in his 710th game for Bayern, surpassing former record holder Sepp Maier (709).

Bayern were 4-0 winners at second-tier Ulm in the German Cup first round on 16 August, Müller scoring twice. Substitute Kane, who provided the final goal in added time, registered on his German Cup debut.

On 6 September Konrad Laimer scored in Austria's 1-1 UEFA Nations League draw in Slovenia.

On the same day Michael Olise made his debut for France in a 1-3 loss against Italy.

The following day Musiala and Aleksandar Pavlović, with his first goal on his second international appearance, scored in Germany's 5-0 win against Hungary.

On 10 September Joshua Kimmich scored for Germany in a 2-2 draw away to Netherlands.

On the same day Kane marked his 100th England cap with both goals in a 2-0 win against Finland at Wembley.

Josip Stanišić has not played since 19 August due to a knee injury.*

Arijon Ibrahimović has been sidelined since 31 July by a hamstring injury, but resumed team training on 10 September.

New signing Hiroki Ito has been missing since 28 July with a broken metatarsal.

Daniel Peretz has been sidelined since 18 July because of a thigh injury.

Leroy Sané (out since 8 July, groin surgery) and Tarek Buchmann (out since February, thigh) are yet to play this season, but are back in training with Sané an unused substitute on Saturday.

Pavlović (2029), Stanišić (2029) and Ibrahimović (2027) all signed new contracts this summer.

GNK Dinamo

The Croatian champions' unbeaten league run of 23 matches (W19 D4), stretching back to 23 January, was ended by a 0-1 home loss against great rivals Hajduk Split on Friday.

Dinamo had won four of their first five league games this season, opening with four victories before a 1-1 draw at Rijeka on 1 September.

The Zagreb club had won their first six games in all competitions in 2024/25 before being held by Rijeka.

Dinamo's tally of 13 points after six games matches their total at the same stage in 2023/24.

Sandro Kulenović, who came on at half-time on Friday, has five goals in six league games this season.

On 8 August Bruno Petković signed a new contract until 2026.