FC Bayern against Belgian teams: that was a rare occurrence in the European Cup. They had only met Club Brugge twice before, but in 2005 they met at the Allianz Arena on a very special occasion.
September 27, 2005, was a special day in the history of FC Bayern and the Allianz Arena. It was the first time that the German record champions played a home game in the European Cup in their new stadium. Their opponents then, as now on Wednesday evening, were Club Brugge from Belgium. Munich won by the narrowest of margins, with defender Martin Demichelis scoring the decisive 1-0 goal in the 32nd minute.
It was one of only two encounters with Club Brugge in FC Bayern’s long European Cup history. In the return leg of the group stage in Belgium, Claudio Pizarro’s goal was not enough for Bayern, who had to settle for a 1-1 draw, but they still advanced as runners-up behind Juventus Turin, while the Belgians finished third ahead of Rapid Vienna.
The 19-time Belgian champions last reached the semifinals of the Conference League in 2024, where they were narrowly eliminated by AC Florence, as they were in 1992 in the semifinals of the European Cup Winners’ Cup against eventual winners Werder Bremen. In 1976, the club narrowly missed out on victory in the UEFA Cup, losing 3-2 and 1-1 in the two finals against Liverpool FC, although Bruges had already taken a 2-0 lead in the first leg at Anfield Road. In 1978, they almost won the trophy, but once again their dreams were shattered in the final against Liverpool, who won 1-0 with Kenny Dalglish scoring the only goal. The club started this Champions League season with a strong 4-1 win against AS Monaco before losing 2-1 to Atalanta Bergamo. Bayern should therefore be warned that their opponents have the means and class to cause problems for bigger clubs.
Most of the time, the opponent was Anderlecht
Bayern have played a Belgian team 16 times in total, winning ten, drawing three and losing three. On their way to their first European Cup victory in 1967, Munich eliminated Standard Liège in the semifinals of the European Cup Winners’ Cup, with a 5-1 aggregate score over two legs.
Bayern have faced RSC Anderlecht most often, in twelve of the 16 matches. The two sides last met in the 2017/18 group stage, with Bayern winning 3-0 at home and 2-1 away. All three of their defeats against Belgian teams have come against Anderlecht, including in the 1976 European Super Cup and in the 1986 European Cup quarter-finals.
That is not a threat this time, but Vincent Kompany’s team wants to build on its excellent position in the league phase with a third win in three games to avoid the play-offs in February.
