Led by a brace from Harry Kane, Bayern Munich got their UEFA Champions League campaign off to a winning start with a 3-1 victory over Chelsea at the Allianz Arena, taking their winning streak across all competitions this season to five on the bounce. Trevoh Chalobah’s own goal (20’) and Kane’s converted penalty (27’) after a clear and obvious takedown from Moisés Caicedo came in quick succession made it seem like Bayern could start to run away from the match, but Cole Palmer’s 29th minute strike
from a blistering counter-attack got the visitors right back into that match. In the second half, Kane struck again in the 63rd minute after a poor bit of play at the back from Malo Gusto, who was being pressed by both Luis Diaz and Serge Gnabry, which restored Bayern’s two-goal cushion that Chelsea could not find their way back from.
With Kane’s brace against Chelsea, he’s now tallied 10 goals and three assists from six appearances across all competitions, and he’s already on pace to at least equal his tallies from his previous two seasons, if not better them. The England skipper is currently 32 years of age, but after the win over Chelsea, he said he’s the best he’s ever felt right now and making the most of his chances that are falling his way. “Physically and mentally, this is the best I’ve ever felt. In this team, I know I’m going to get chances. I just have to keep taking them like I did tonight,” the striker explained (via @iMiaSanMia).
Kane was also officially awarded the man of the match trophy by UEFA after the Chelsea win, and he’s growing quite accustomed to collecting them as a Bayern player. They might not be in the same trophy cabinet as the Bundesliga winner’s medal that he collected last year as his first piece of major club silverware, but he did mention that his son quite likes the UEFA man of the match awards. “My son loves these things. Luckily, they’re not that heavy. I like to bring them to him when I can,” he said with a giant smirk on his face (via @iMiaSanMia).
At this rate, Kane will also be in serious contention for the European Golden boot, assuming Bayern is able to go far in the Champions League and do everything they can to get beyond the quarterfinals, where they were narrowly thwarted by Inter last season. He already has 42 goals in the Champions League and since he joined Bayern in the summer of 2023, no other player has scored more goals in the competition than him. He is quite literally the most prolific scorer in the tournament right now.
