Vincent Kompany believes comparing Michael Olise and Luis Diaz to former Bayern Munich wingers Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery is "very difficult".
Olise (two goals, one assist) and Diaz (one goal, two assists) both directly contributed to three goals in Bayern's 8-1 win over Wolfsburg last time out, with both wingers assisting the other.
Olise registered his 24th assist in his 50th Bundesliga appearance – no other player has provided as many assists in their first 50 Bundesliga games since data collection began in 2004-05.
Furthermore, in their first 50 Bundesliga appearances for Bayern, only Robben (49) and Harry Kane (69) have collected more goal involvements than Olise (45 – 21 goals, 24 assists) since detailed data collection began in 2004-05.
Robben finished his Bundesliga career with 99 goals and 53 assists in 201 games, while Ribery directly contributed to 178 goals (86 goals, 92 assists).
Ahead of their trip to Koln on Wednesday, Kompany insisted Olise and Diaz must continue their current form for years to come if they are to be compared to Robben and Ribery.
"This comparison is very difficult," said Kompany. "I played against both of them and saw how strong they were.
"I always felt that I was a very good defender, but against Robben, you had a different feeling: you know he's going to cut inside and shoot, and yet somehow he gets that space and shoots.
"I understand the comparison, but these guys achieved great things over many years, and our guys aren't there yet.
"In a few years, if things continue in a similar vein, the four of them can sit down together and discuss how they scored all those goals and made all those assists. Then you can write it down for the next generation."
Bayern are aiming to earn a third consecutive win in the Bundesliga, and come into this game with an 11-point lead at the top of the table.
Koln, meanwhile, are 11th in the table, with 17 points, five above the relegation play-off place, and are looking to end a seven-game winless streak in the German top-flight.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Koln – Said El Mala
Koln's El Mala recently scored his seventh goal this Bundesliga season – the most of any Under-20 player. Only Lukas Podolski was younger when scoring his seventh Bundesliga goal for Koln (18 years and 332 days) than El Mala (19y 137d).
This Bundesliga season, he averages 8.1 touches in the opposition's box per 90 minutes; among all players with at least 500 minutes played, only Olise has more (8.8).
Bayern – Luis Diaz
Diaz recently registered three goal involvements in a Bundesliga match for the third time – only team-mate Kane has done so more often in the competition this season (four times).
He now has 17 goal involvements (nine goals, eight assists) this term in the league, just one short of his personal record in a Premier League season (18 in 2024-25).