Vincent Kompany says Bayern Munich cannot afford to be complacent following their near-perfect start to the season, saying the way they finish the campaign will be more important.
The Bundesliga champions return to action following the final international break of 2025 on Saturday, with Freiburg the visitors to the Allianz Arena.
Bayern won their first 16 games across all competitions to start 2025-26 before drawing 2-2 with Union Berlin in their final match prior to the hiatus.
And Kompany is determined for his team to get back to winning ways immediately, noting that all they have done thus far is establish a solid base.
He said: "We've already drawn against Union this season. We didn't win the last game, we haven't forgotten that – it's not been a perfect season.
"You always have to be strong at the end of the season – what you do at the beginning is a bonus. We want to be even stronger at the end.
"Even if the performances are good now, it's not an easy task, but we want to be even stronger at the end of the season than we are now."
Session in the snow! pic.twitter.com/opkOyTGto1
— FC Bayern (@FCBayernEN) November 21, 2025
Bayern should have Joshua Kimmich available, while they hope to welcome Alphonso Davies back before the turn of the year, after he tore his anterior cruciate ligament in March.
"Alphonso is an incredible athlete," Kompany said. "Even if he's not yet at 100 per cent, he's probably already the fastest in the squad again!
"Phonzy needs to be patient. If he plays in one or two games this year, that would be great."
Freiburg are 10th in the table with 13 points from 10 games, six adrift of the top six and eight clear of the relegation places, having beaten St. Pauli 2-1 last time out.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Bayern Munich – Luis Diaz
Diaz has been directly involved in 10 goals (six goals, four assists) in his first 10 Bundesliga appearances for Bayern.
Since detailed data collection began in 2003-04, only Harry Kane (20) and Miroslav Klose (13) have recorded more goal involvements in their first 10 Bundesliga games for Bayern. This season, only team-mate Kane (16) has more Bundesliga goal involvements than Diaz.
Freiburg – Yuito Suzuki
Freiburg have attempted the second-fewest shots per game in the Bundesliga this season (11.3), with only bottom club Heidenheim attempting fewer (10.7).
They are likely to have limited opportunities on Saturday and Suzuki – who scored his first Bundesliga goal against St. Pauli ahead of the international break – will have to be clinical.
MATCH PREDICTION: BAYERN MUNICH WIN
Bayern have lost just one of their 26 home matches against Freiburg in all competitions (W22 D3), with that sole defeat being a 2-1 loss in the DFB-Pokal quarter-finals in April 2023.
In the Bundesliga, the Bavarians are unbeaten in all 25 of their home games against Freiburg (W22 D3) – only against Wolfsburg (28 games) have Bayern played more home matches in the competition without defeat.
Despite dropping points for the first time this Bundesliga season with a 2-2 draw against Union Berlin before the break, ending a run of nine consecutive wins, Bayern's total of 28 points from 10 games still represents their second-best start to a campaign, with only the 2015-16 season yielding more points at this stage (30).
Bayern have scored at least two goals in each of their last 18 Bundesliga matches – only Bayern themselves in 2013-14 have had a longer such run in the competition's history (20 games).
The hosts are clear favourites, but Freiburg will be no pushovers. They have lost just one of their last 13 matches in all competitions (W7 D5), a 2-0 Bundesliga defeat at Bayer Leverkusen in late October.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Bayern Munich – 75.5%
Freiburg – 10%
Draw – 14.5%