Bayern Munich Dominates Bodo/Glimt 5-0 in Champions League Opener
The lights dimmed at the Allianz Arena, the anthem rolled around the stands, and all eyes went to one man. Not Harry Kane. Not Joshua Kimmich. Jamal Musiala.
Back in Bayern Munich’s starting XI for the first time this season, the 23-year-old walked out to a roar that felt less like routine Champions League applause and more like a welcome back from the brink. Pre-season had rattled the club: collapses, neurological dysfunctions, frightening scenes in friendlies against RB Leipzig and Heidenheim. This was not just another team sheet. It was a test of nerves.
Vincent Kompany didn’t hide behind sentiment. He gave Musiala the nod from the start after a brief cameo against Schalke, and, as reported by Fabrizio Romano, made it clear the decision was earned: the midfielder “deserved to start, it’s not gifted.” On this stage, on this night, the player backed his manager in the most emphatic way.
Musiala’s moment
The first half did not follow the script Bayern fans had written in their heads on the way to the stadium. FK Bodo/Glimt, the supposed underdogs, arrived with the swagger of seasoned giant-killers. Last season’s scalps – Manchester City, Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan – were no accident, and they defended like a side that had seen it all before.
They sat deep, lines tight, rhythm broken. Bayern probed but found only yellow shirts and stubborn resistance. Kimmich rattled the post in the 35th minute, then forced Nikita Haikin into a sharp save just before the break. The frustration grew. The noise dipped. The Norwegian visitors looked comfortable.
Then, two minutes after the restart, fortune and ruthlessness collided.
Harry Kane let fly from distance, his strike thudding off defender Patrick Berg. The deflection wrong-footed everyone – except Musiala. The ball dropped to him in the box, and in one smooth motion he swivelled and hammered a shot into the far corner. No hesitation, no trace of those harrowing summer doubts. Just a clean, fierce finish and a release of emotion that swept around the arena.
The goal didn’t just break the deadlock. It broke Bodo/Glimt’s resistance.
Kane climbs higher
With the tension snapped, Bayern surged. The passing sharpened, the runs became more daring, and Bodo/Glimt suddenly looked exactly what they were on paper: outgunned.
The second goal came in the 61st minute and felt inevitable. Michael Olise, increasingly central to Kompany’s tactical plans, stood over a free-kick and dropped a perfect delivery into the danger zone. Kane, reading the flight like only he can, ghosted into space and powered his header home.
That finish carried numbers with it. Kane’s 55th goal in the Champions League. His 79th in European competition overall. Each strike seems to chisel his name deeper into the tournament’s history, and this one arrived with the nonchalance of a man who expects to be there.
Bodo/Glimt’s belief drained. Bayern, smelling blood, did not ease off.
Olise takes over, Davies flies
The final quarter of an hour turned into an exhibition.
In the 77th minute, Alphonso Davies did what Alphonso Davies does. A burst of raw pace down the flank, a decisive drive, and a composed finish for 3-0. By then, Bayern were playing with freedom, the early tension replaced by swagger.
Olise then stepped out of Kane’s shadow and made the night partly his own. With Bodo/Glimt stretched and exhausted, he struck in the 83rd minute, applying a crisp finish to push the scoreline into the territory their dominance deserved.
Deep into stoppage time, he went back for seconds. Another incisive move, another composed strike, and Bayern’s Champions League opener ended 5-0. A late brace, a statement performance, and a reminder of why Kompany has built so much of his attacking structure around him.
The scoreline glowed. The first-half struggle felt like a different match entirely.
A streak that refuses to end
Behind the goals and the emotion sat a statistic that underlines Bayern’s iron grip on this stage. This win extended one of European football’s most remarkable streaks: Bayern have now won their opening match of a European campaign for 23 consecutive seasons.
To find their last defeat on matchday one, you have to rewind all the way to 2002/03, a 3-2 loss to Deportivo La Coruna. Since then, 23 openers, 23 wins. Coaches have changed, squads have turned over, styles have evolved. The habit of starting strong has not.
Now the attention turns north. Next up, a trip to Norway on October 13th to face Viking Stavanger. Musiala is back, Kane is climbing records, Olise is growing in influence – and Bayern’s flawless opening-night record remains untouched.
The question isn’t whether they’re ready for Europe. It’s who, if anyone, is ready for them.
