A Progress Report on Bayern Munich Heading into October International Break

Heading into the October international break, there is no club in European football at—or anywhere near—Bayern Munich's level. The Bavarian giants have truly set a new standard and deserve to be considered in a league of their own.

Since the DFL-Superpokal on August 1, Bayern have won all 11 of their competitive fixtures: Eight in the Bundesliga, two in the Champions League and one in the DFB-Pokal.

They are the only club with a perfect record across Europe's top leagues, and their superlative form at a time when many other big clubs are struggling further underlines their superiority.

European champions Barcelona are fourth in La Liga and have already lost twice; Real Madrid have only won four of their seven domestic fixtures. Champions League runners-up Juventus have more losses than wins and are 10 points behind the pace set by Fiorentina.

In England, Chelsea are also 10 points adrift of Premier League leaders Manchester City, who have lost twice and struggled in the Champions League thus far. And in France, Paris Saint-Germain are looking great but still have been held to draws in two of their nine Ligue 1 games.

Bayern, on the other hand, are simply cruising. And it's not only in the easy games: Their level has risen when facing Germany's Champions League representatives or clubs near the top of the table.

They have beaten Wolfsburg, Bayer Leverkusen and Dortmund with a combined 13-2 scoreline in recent weeks, with the only matches in which they've come at all close to dropping points being against Hoffenheim and Augsburg.

Those close calls have proved Bayern have a true, winning spirit. And their performance against teams like BVB and Wolfsburg show that they have a higher gear they can switch into when the occasion calls for it. This was not the case last year, and it is a very important development.

Matthias Schrader/Associated Press

Beyond the results, Bayern have tackled their greatest squad development issues.

Overall, the squad is much healthier than a year ago. Franck Ribery still isn't fit, but over the summer the club seem to have managed to find a perfect replacement.

At 32 years of age, the Frenchman's inevitable decline was a concern; it's no easy thing to bring in a player to immediately fill in for a club hero, but Douglas Costa has done just that, with 11 assists already. While Ribery's career as an elite footballer is nearing its end, the 25-year-old Costa has class and many years left at the highest level.

Along with Costa in attack, Bayern have two of Europe's best forwards in Thomas Muller and Robert Lewandowski. Many remain loyal to the likes of Luis Suarez and Sergio Aguero, who are great players, but at this point, there is no rational justification for ranking the Bayern duo lower than the very elite strikers in world football.

Behind the front three, Bayern's midfield is looking just fine in the absence of Bastian Schweinsteiger, with Arturo Vidal having been an inspired signing, and Thiago Alcantara and Xabi Alonso adding diversity of skill set and pure class on the ball.

Critically, Mario Gotze has started to come into form. Long touted as the future star of German football, it's important to Bayern's identity as a German club that the 23-year-old fulfills his potential.

Also importantly, youngster Joshua Kimmich has been given a chance to prove himself with three starts and seven appearances overall.

The club's depth would otherwise be of concern to up-and-coming talents fearing stagnation in a permanent bench role, and Pierre Hojbjerg's loan to Schalke this summer further enforced that view. But Kimmich, 20, is an example that young talents can still make their way in this Bayern team.

Finally, at the back, things are looking great for Guardiola and company especially as the trainer has reverted to a back four.

Philipp Lahm and David Alaba are better and of more benefit to the club in defense than midfield, and the switch to a four-man defense has allowed Bayern to double up on the wings and improved their attacking play out wide.

Centrally, Jerome Boateng has taken another definitive step towards status as the world's best center-back. He's athletically superlative and an absolutely brilliant player of the ball from deep areas.

Right now, things seem to be coming together as Bayern look to have the dominance they appreciated in their treble-winning 2012-13 campaign.

In style, they're playing to their natural strengths as Guardiola appears to have turned over a new leaf in tactics, and legends are emerging in the experienced and mature but still relatively young Lewandowski, Muller and Boateng.

Nothing has been won yet, and club chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge was wise to underline this point in his press conference after the Dortmund game: "We must not be arrogant," he said according to The Local. "Our slogan is: Keep calm and carry on."

It is indeed true that the season is still in its early stages. But as much as Rummenigge is trying to keep the club grounded, at this point, it's hard to imagine any side in Germany or abroad standing in Bayern's way.

@Mr_Bundesliga