Jonathan Tah looking to take away former teammates’ courage

There was a pleased look on the face of Jonathan Tah as he left the stadium in Cologne on Wednesday night. The 29-year-old had just helped Bayern to a 14th competitive win of the season – a new record to begin a campaign across Europe’s top five leagues – and a place in the last 16 of the DFB Cup. But the defender was already thinking about the next big challenge to come. “We’re pleased with the win today and tomorrow we’ll turn our focus to the next game. That’s what the team and the entire club does at the moment,” he said before boarding the team bus.

Tah: “Ready for moments like this”

Although Bayern left the RheinEnergieStadion with a 4-1 win, it had been anything but an easy 90 minutes for the players on the pitch. Köln’s intense approach had caused Bayern a number of issues, especially in the opening 30 minutes, and they went in front through Ragnar Ache. “They did well and got the goal, which prompts the stadium and the atmosphere,” Tah said. Things reached fever pitch in Cologne when the goal went in.

It was also the first time in any game in 2025/26 that Bayern found themselves behind. It made the reaction even more impressive, as they kept their cool and turned things around with a quickfire double before the break. “The way we dealt with it shows that we’re ready for moments like this. It didn’t take us long to make it 1-1 and then 2-1. That was a top reaction by us as a team,” the summer signing stated. A half-time lead meant Bayern could control things more in the second half and went on to score two more to ensure progress through the second round.

The Germany international is one of the reasons for Bayern’s excellent start to the campaign. Having swapped Bayer Leverkusen for Munich in the summer and joining up for the Club World Cup in the USA, Tah immediately emerged as a key figure in the team. The Hamburg native has helped shore up Bayern’s defence alongside Dayot Upamecano, conceding only 10 goals over the first 14 games across all competitions.

A high level against former club

The next fixture for Tah is therefore a special one as Leverkusen come to the Allianz Arena in the Bundesliga on Saturday. The defender spent 10 years at the BayArena, winning the domestic double in 2023/24. “I’ve obviously still got a lot of links to the club,” he admitted.

However, Leverkusen’s team has changed a lot in the few months since he left. “It was really difficult for them at the start. Now they’re slowly rediscovering their stability,” Tah said, having closely watch his former side’s development. “It’ll definitely be a match played at a very high level. They’ll be courageous coming to us, and we’ll try to take that courage away, play our game and obviously win it,” he added of his expectations for Saturday.

Getting one over his former side will ensure Tah and Bayern continue their historic winning run, before they’re able to turn their attentions to Tuesday’s big Champions League encounter away at Paris Saint-Germain.

Read up on the stats ahead of Saturday’s game: