Bayern Munich Triumphs Over RB Leipzig in Telekom Cup
Bayern Munich’s preseason gathered another layer of intrigue at the Allianz Arena as a mixed XI edged past RB Leipzig in the 2026 Telekom Cup, a game that said as much about the club’s future as it did about its present.
The Rekordmeister, with World Cup returnees only just filtering back into the squad and Martín Demichelis back on the touchline as an old-new face, produced a 2-1 win built on bright attacking flashes and familiar defensive concerns.
Díaz pounces after Binder blunder
The opening stages felt like classic preseason fare: high tempo, loose structure, and chances at both ends. Leipzig carved out the first real opportunity inside two minutes but failed to punish Bayern’s early rust.
The first real turning point came on 8 minutes when Konrad Laimer went into a challenge with David Raum and immediately felt discomfort. After brief treatment, the midfielder signaled he could not continue. By the 10th minute, Sacha Boey was on, another chance for the right-back to underline a quietly impressive preseason.
Then Bayern struck — courtesy of a mistake.
On 14 minutes, Tim Binder, who had started confidently, cut inside and attempted to play out from the back. His pass went straight to a Leipzig player, and the ball broke kindly to Luis Díaz. The Colombian needed no second invitation, burying the opening goal with clinical ease. It was the kind of finish that underlined his importance to Bayern’s attack, but also a reminder of the risks the team still takes in its own third.
Binder quickly tried to make amends. At 18 minutes he burst through on goal, only for Arijon Ibrahimović to stray into his path and be flagged offside, killing the move just as it threatened to become a second Bayern goal.
The game then hit a brief pause at 23 minutes for a hydration break, but the intensity hardly dipped when play resumed at 26 minutes.
Leipzig grew into the half. A shot flashed agonizingly wide in the 33rd minute, and seven minutes later a header beat Manuel Neuer but not the woodwork, crashing off the far post and out. Bayern’s long-standing vulnerability to pace and direct attacks surfaced again, with the back line often scrambling rather than controlling.
Boey, eager to impress after replacing Laimer, almost added to the scoreline himself. On 44 minutes he let fly, only to see his effort deflected behind for a corner. Three minutes later, the whistle went for halftime with Bayern 1-0 up but far from comfortable.
Leipzig hit back, Bayern respond
The second half exploded into life almost instantly.
Within a minute of the restart, Johan Bakayoko forced Neuer into a save, a sharp reminder that Leipzig had no intention of treating this like a gentle warm-up. By the 50th minute, Bakayoko and Binder had traded efforts at either end, both sides threatening but not quite finding the finish.
Leipzig did not have to wait much longer.
On 52 minutes, Brajan Gruda pulled them level, finally converting the pressure that had been building since late in the first half. Bayern’s defense, again, struggled to cope with quick combinations and runners attacking space.
The response, though, was swift and stylish.
Five minutes later, Aleksandar Pavlović stepped up with a moment of real quality. Spotting Nathaniel Brown charging forward from left-back, Pavlović threaded a superb pass into his path. Brown took it in stride and coolly slotted past Maarten Vandevoordt to restore Bayern’s lead at 57 minutes. It was a move straight out of the academy playbook: vision from deep, aggression from full-back, composure in the box.
From there, the contest settled into a more controlled rhythm, with Bayern managing their advantage and Leipzig probing without the same cutting edge they showed around the equalizer.
Auditions, warnings, and one clear message
Preseason games are as much auditions as they are contests, and this one underlined a few themes that have followed Bayern through the summer.
Tim Binder continues to impress. Aside from the error that led to Díaz’s goal, his overall performance matched a strong preseason trend: direct running, confidence on the ball, and a willingness to take risks in the final third. Sacha Boey, too, added another solid outing to his growing Bayern résumé, energetic on the flank and defensively alert.
The picture is far less flattering for Arijon Ibrahimović. Another outing, another game where he failed to convince. The offside that blocked Binder’s clear chance summed up a preseason in which he has struggled to show he belongs at this level, even after a year on loan at Heidenheim.
At the back, the warning lights remain on. Bayern still look vulnerable when defending speed, especially in transition. Leipzig’s near-misses in the first half and Gruda’s equalizer in the second underlined how quickly this team can be stretched when pressed aggressively.
Up front, the message is simpler: Luis Díaz is very good, and Bayern know it. His finish for the opener was routine for a player of his quality, but the club cannot afford to run him into the ground over a long campaign. Managing his minutes may be as important as any tactical tweak Demichelis makes.
Bayern came into this Telekom Cup clash on the back of three wins in four preseason games, with World Cup stars only just rejoining the group and Demichelis returning to familiar surroundings at the Allianz Arena. The 2-1 win over Leipzig keeps that positive run intact, but the performance leaves a clear question hanging over the weeks ahead:
Can this version of Bayern sharpen its defending against pace before the real season punishes them for it?
