Which Bayern Munich defeat still burns you?

Munich — For a club that has collected silverware at a near-relentless pace, FC Bayern’s catalogue of heartbreak is mercifully thin. Yet the scars that do exist have proven maddeningly durable, resurfacing whenever today’s side steps on the pitch against supposedly lesser foes such as Hoffenheim. Supporters will insist the team “cannot lose” on any given match-day, but history reminds them that pain has arrived in many forms: last-gasp collapses, penalty shoot-out misery, and score-line humiliations that still feel implausible decades later.

Twelve fixtures, in particular, continue to sting:

1) Manchester United 2–1 Bayern Munich — Champions League final, 1999 A stoppage-time double robbed Bayern of a victory that had felt secure for 90 minutes, etching the phrase “and Solskjær has won it” into football folklore.

2) Chelsea 1–1 Bayern Munich (4–3 pens) — Champions League final, 2012 Contested in Munich, the home side equalised late, dominated extra time, then succumbed from the spot, completing a season of runner-up finishes across every major competition.

3) Inter Milan 2–0 Bayern Munich — Champions League final, 2010 José Mourinho’s disciplined Inter stifled Bayern’s attack to deny the Bavarians another European crown.

4) FC Porto 2–1 Bayern Munich — European Cup final, 1987 Bayern led through Lothar Matthäus’ early penalty yet conceded twice in the closing stages, reinforcing a reputation for continental near-misses.

5) Aston Villa 1–0 Bayern Munich — European Cup final, 1982 Peter Withe’s scruffy winner delivered a shock defeat that remains one of the competition’s great upsets.

6) Borussia Mönchengladbach 5–0 Bayern Munich — DFB-Pokal, 2021 The heaviest German Cup loss in club history and Bayern’s biggest reverse in 43 years.

7) Fortuna Düsseldorf 7–1 Bayern Munich — Bundesliga, 1978 A scarcely believable score line that stood as the last five-goal margin defeat until Gladbach’s rout above.

8) Schalke 04 7–0 Bayern Munich — Bundesliga, 1976 Still the record league loss, a reminder of how rare such capitulations are in Bayern’s annals.

9) Real Madrid 4–0 Bayern Munich — Champions League semifinal, 2014/15 A home thrashing that ended the title defence and saw Madrid progress 5–0 on aggregate.

10) FC St. Pauli 2–1 Bayern Munich — Bundesliga, 2001/02 A relegation-threatened side toppled the reigning European champions in one of the most embarrassing domestic upsets.

11) Real Madrid 4–3 Bayern Munich — Champions League 2017/18 A tie laced with controversy and a Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick that extinguished another semifinal dream.

12) Paris Saint-Germain 3–3 Bayern Munich (PSG advances on away goals) — Champions League, 2020/21 Robert Lewandowski’s injury loomed large as the Bavarians exited on the rule that no longer exists, and Hansi Flick’s post-match departure announcement only deepened the gloom.

For many modern fans, the fresher wounds—Gladbach’s cup demolition, the agonising exit to PSG—carry the sharpest sting. Older supporters still wince at memories of Barcelona 1999 or Villa 1982. Yet each generation shares a common refrain: the next victory never erases the last painful defeat; it merely papers over it until the next contender dares to reopen the wound.