Jamal Musiala Shines in Bayern Munich's Champions League Opener
The lights dimmed, the anthem rolled around the Allianz Arena, and all eyes locked on one man. Jamal Musiala, back in Bayern Munich’s starting XI for the first time this season, walked out to a roar that sounded less like a routine group game and more like a homecoming.
This was not just another Champions League night. Not for him.
The 23-year-old had spent pre-season in a haze of fear and medical tests after collapsing in friendlies against RB Leipzig and Heidenheim, neurological dysfunctions cutting short what should have been a smooth build-up. For a while, the conversation around Musiala wasn’t about tactics or roles. It was about whether he would be okay.
He eased back with a brief substitute appearance against Schalke at the weekend. On Tuesday, Vincent Kompany went a step further. He put him in from the start. No soft launch, no sentimental cameo. As Kompany put it, the midfielder “deserved to start, it’s not gifted.”
Musiala repaid that faith with the kind of moment that sticks.
Musiala breaks the deadlock
Bayern had huffed through a tense first half. FK Bodo/Glimt, the Norwegian “giant-killers” who took down Manchester City, Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan last season, came to Munich with a plan and the confidence to execute it. They sat deep, stayed compact, and forced Bayern’s creators into tight, crowded corridors.
Joshua Kimmich rattled the post in the 35th minute, then saw another effort beaten away by Nikita Haikin just before the break. The Allianz grew restless. Bayern pushed, Bodo/Glimt refused to blink.
The game needed a break. It arrived two minutes into the second half.
Harry Kane let fly from distance, his strike taking a deflection off Patrick Berg. The ball looped awkwardly into the box, and for a split second, time slowed. Musiala read it first. One swivel, one clean, vicious strike into the far corner. 1-0. No sign of rust, no sign of fear. Just a cold, clinical finish.
The celebration said everything. Teammates swarmed him. The stadium erupted. A comeback, sealed in one swing of his right foot.
The pressure finally told. And it didn’t stop there.
Kane hits another landmark
Once Bayern broke through, the contest shifted. Bodo/Glimt’s shape loosened, their resistance began to fray, and Bayern smelled blood.
On 61 minutes, Michael Olise stepped up over a free-kick and bent in a teasing ball that begged for a touch. Kane obliged. The England captain ghosted into space and planted a firm header past Haikin for 2-0.
It was more than just the cushion Bayern craved. That goal marked Kane’s 55th in the Champions League and his 79th in European competitions overall. Another notch in a record that now sits comfortably among the elite marks in the tournament’s history. He keeps scoring, the numbers keep climbing, and the debate over his place among the great European forwards grows quieter by the week.
From there, Bayern started to enjoy themselves.
Olise and Davies turn it into a rout
The final 20 minutes turned into a statement.
In the 77th minute, Alphonso Davies surged forward in that familiar blur of red and speed. One explosive burst, one composed finish. 3-0, and Bodo/Glimt were finally broken.
Then it became the Michael Olise show.
The winger, already central to Kompany’s tactical blueprint, took centre stage on the scoresheet. He struck in the 83rd minute, then again deep into stoppage time, completing a late brace that pushed the result into emphatic territory at 5-0.
The scoreline did not flatter Bayern by the end. They had completely overrun the Norwegians in the closing stages, turning a cagey European opener into a demolition.
A streak that refuses to end
Beneath the emotion of Musiala’s return and the sparkle of Kane’s numbers, another remarkable statistic quietly stretched on.
This victory means Bayern Munich have now won their opening match of a European campaign for 23 consecutive seasons. The last time they lost on matchday one? You have to rewind all the way to 2002/03, a 3-2 defeat to Deportivo La Coruna. Since then: 23 campaigns, 23 wins. No slips, no stumbles. Just relentless consistency at the highest level.
It is the kind of record that sums up a club’s identity. Change the coaches, change the stars, change the opposition. The outcome on matchday one stays the same.
Next up, the German champions head to Norway on October 13th to face Viking Stavanger. Another trip, another test, and another chance for this reshaped Bayern side — and a fully firing Jamal Musiala — to show how far they can push this season’s European journey.
