Bayern sink Chelsea as Harry Kane grabs brace in emphatic 3-1 win

Bayern Munich opened their Champions League campaign with a 3-1 victory over Chelsea, with Harry Kane at the double.

Kane scored on either side of half-time at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday, as Cole Palmer’s brilliantly worked goal ultimately proved fruitless.

Bayern hit the front in the 20th minute when a Michael Olise cross from the right-hand side pinged off the shin of Trevoh Chalobah, who inadvertently turned into his own net.

Kane made it 2-0 seven minutes later, slotting into the bottom-right corner from the penalty spot, with the England captain having won the spot-kick when he drew a clumsy challenge from Moises Caicedo.

Yet a blistering Chelsea counter in the 29th minute saw Palmer mark his 100th Chelsea appearance with a fine strike into the top corner to reduce the arrears.

But Bayern regained momentum early in the second half, and after Robert Sanchez had beaten away efforts from Olise and Kane, the latter helped himself to a second.

After the interval, Bayern took the game to their visitors, as a flurry of efforts from Kane and Olise forced two brilliant saves from Sanchez between the sticks. 

Having been played in by Serge Gnabry, Kane clinically finished to restore Bayern’s two-goal cushion.

Palmer thought he had set up a grandstand finish, only to see a late goal disallowed for offside, as Chelsea’s first Champions League match since 2023 ended in defeat.

Since the beginning of the 2024-25 Champions League campaign, no player has scored more goals in the competition than Kane (13, level with Raphinha and Serhou Guirassy).

He has now netted 21 Champions League goals for Bayern, becoming only the third player to score 20 or more goals for two different clubs in the Champions League, joining Cristiano Ronaldo (105 for Real Madrid, 21 for Manchester United) and Neymar (22 for PSG, 21 for Barcelona).