Bayern Munich Dominates with Musiala's Return in Champions League
The lights dimmed at the Allianz Arena, and all eyes went to one man.
Jamal Musiala, back in Bayern Munich’s starting XI for the first time this season, walked into the roar with a story already hanging over the night. The 23-year-old had spent pre-season in a haze of fear and medical tests after collapsing during friendlies against RB Leipzig and Heidenheim, neurological dysfunctions turning routine minutes into genuine alarm.
On Tuesday, the stage was very different. Champions League. Bayern. A full house. And Musiala in from the start.
Vincent Kompany had eased him in with a short cameo against Schalke at the weekend. This was the real test. The Bayern coach, as relayed by Fabrizio Romano, made it clear the selection was earned, not sentimental: Musiala “deserved to start, it’s not gifted.” The message was as sharp as any tactical instruction. Bayern’s new era would not be built on emotion alone.
Musiala’s moment
The first half never matched the occasion. Bayern pushed, probed, and ran into a yellow wall. FK Bodo/Glimt, who spent last season bloodying noses across Europe with wins over Manchester City, Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan, arrived in Munich with no intention of playing the victim.
They sat deep. They spoiled. They waited.
Joshua Kimmich rattled the post on 35 minutes with a precise drive that had Nikita Haikin beaten, then forced the Bodo/Glimt goalkeeper into another smart stop just before the break. Bayern’s movement was neat, the pressure constant, but the scoreboard refused to budge. The Allianz grew restless.
Then, two minutes after half-time, the night turned.
Harry Kane let fly from distance, a vicious effort that clipped defender Patrick Berg and spun awkwardly into the box. The deflection wrong-footed the back line but dropped perfectly for Musiala. One touch to set himself, one swivel, then a ruthless strike arrowed into the far corner.
No hesitation. No sign of a player feeling his way back. Just a clean, unforgiving finish and a release of weeks of tension in one swing of his right boot.
The stadium erupted. Musiala’s team-mates swarmed him. For Bayern, the lead. For Musiala, something much bigger: proof that the fear of the summer hadn’t followed him onto the pitch.
Kane climbs, Bayern surge
Once Bayern had their breakthrough, the match snapped into a different rhythm.
Bodo/Glimt’s disciplined block started to fray. Spaces appeared where there had been none. Kompany’s side smelled blood.
On 61 minutes, Michael Olise stepped up over a free-kick, just left of centre and begging for quality. He delivered it. The ball curled wickedly into the danger zone, and Kane did what Kane has done for years. He ghosted between markers, timed his leap, and powered a header past Haikin for 2-0.
It wasn’t just another goal. It was his 55th in the Champions League and his 79th in European competition overall, another milestone in a career defined by relentless scoring. On a night with so many subplots, the England captain quietly pushed himself further into the tournament’s record books.
From there, Bodo/Glimt faded. Bayern did not.
Alphonso Davies added the third in the 77th minute, the kind of goal that has become his trademark. A burst of raw pace, a driving run, and a composed finish to kill whatever resistance remained. By then, Bayern were playing with a freedom that had been missing in the first half, the ball zipping between red shirts as the Norwegians chased shadows.
Olise takes over
The closing stages belonged to Olise.
Already influential with his dead-ball delivery for Kane’s header, the former Crystal Palace winger decided to put his own stamp on the scoreline. On 83 minutes, he found the net to make it 4-0, capping a performance that underlined why Kompany has made him such a central piece of his tactical plan.
Deep into stoppage time, Olise struck again. Another sharp finish, another reminder that Bayern’s attacking threat now comes from multiple angles. A 5-0 scoreline that, for all Bodo/Glimt’s stubbornness in the first half, accurately reflected the gulf once Bayern clicked into gear.
A streak that refuses to end
Beneath the emotion of Musiala’s return and the flourish of late goals sat a colder, more ruthless statistic.
This win extends one of the most remarkable opening-day runs in European football. Bayern Munich have now won their first match of a European campaign for 23 consecutive seasons. The last time they lost on matchday one was in 2002/03, a 3-2 defeat to Deportivo La Coruna. Since then: 23 campaigns, 23 wins. No slip, no stumble, just a relentless march into every new season.
That kind of consistency doesn’t happen by accident. Managers change, squads turn over, styles evolve. The expectation remains the same.
Next up, the German champions head to Norway on October 13th to face Viking Stavanger. Different country, different climate, different challenge.
But after a night that married raw emotion with ruthless efficiency, who will bet against Bayern keeping that opening-day standard as the benchmark for the rest of their European journey?
