Bayern Munich vs Chelsea Review
Harry Kane scored two goals as Bayern Munich maintained their flawless start to the 2025/26 season with a 3-1 victory over Chelsea in the opening matchday of the UEFA Champions League. Chelsea returned to the UCL after winning both the UEFA Conference League and FIFA Club World Cup last season. They showed promise early on, especially through Malo Gusto and Cole Palmer on the right flank. However, Bayern began to assert themselves. Kane had a header just over the bar before the opening goal. Michael Olise caused problems on the right side and delivered a dangerous cross into the six-yard box, where Trevoh Chalobah inadvertently scored an own goal.
Bayern maintained their pressure, resulting in Kane winning a penalty after a tussle with Moisés Caicedo inside the box. The English striker composed himself and confidently placed the ball into the bottom right corner, marking his 24th goal from 25 penalty attempts for Bayern. Despite not playing particularly well to build such a strong lead, it seemed fair when Chelsea quickly responded. Palmer received the ball near the halfway line, sprinted towards Bayern’s penalty area, combined with Gusto in a quick one-two, and then curled the ball into the top corner.
Chelsea seemed to carry that momentum into the second half but failed to capitalize, allowing Bayern to regain control. Robert Sánchez made two outstanding saves from Kane and Olise to keep Chelsea in the game, but he was unable to prevent Kane from scoring again after capitalizing on Gusto’s loose pass. Enzo Maresca made substitutions to try to turn things around, but luck was against his team when Palmer was narrowly flagged offside while receiving a pass from Andrey Santos.
The victory extends Bayern’s perfect record in competitive matches at the start of the season and gives Vincent Kompany optimism that his team can surpass their recent pattern of exiting the UCL in the quarter-finals five times in the past six seasons. Chelsea was the first team to score at this stadium this season, but their initial away game outside London this term ultimately did not favor Maresca’s side.
