Champions League Highlights: Bayern and Manchester United Shine
The Champions League group stage has barely drawn breath and already it belongs to the stars, the storylines, and one newly arrived Italian fairy tale.
Kane keeps scoring, Bayern crush Bodø/Glimt
Harry Kane’s relationship with this competition has turned into a habit. A ruthless, reliable one.
Bayern Munich shredded last season’s surprise package Bodø/Glimt 5-0, but for 45 minutes it looked nothing like a rout. The Norwegian side held firm, went in at halftime at 0-0, and carried the same fearless energy that lit up Europe last year.
Then came the turning point. First-choice goalkeeper Nikita Haikin did not return after the break due to injury. Bodø/Glimt never recovered.
Jamal Musiala, starting for the first time since on-field seizures linked to a neurological condition disrupted his preseason, broke the deadlock. He drifted into space, struck, and then tapped his head in a pointed, personal celebration. A statement that he was back, on his own terms.
The dam burst.
Kane rose to head in Bayern’s second, extending his scoring streak to eight consecutive Champions League games dating back to January. He is not just scoring; he is setting a relentless pace at this level.
Canada’s Alphonso Davies joined the party with Bayern’s third, surging into the box and finishing off a move that underlined the gulf in class once Bodø/Glimt’s resistance cracked. Michael Olise then took over, adding two more to complete the 5-0 demolition and underline Bayern’s status as early tournament heavyweights.
Old Trafford lights up again
Almost three years without Champions League nights at Old Trafford felt like an eternity. The return was loud, ruthless, and exactly what Manchester United needed.
They swept aside Azerbaijan’s Sabah 4-0, a scoreline that matched the mood. This was not a cautious re-entry. It was a statement.
Matheus Cunha struck first in the 27th minute, firing United ahead and releasing weeks of pent-up anticipation around the stadium. Once the first went in, the rest followed quickly.
Bruno Fernandes and Benjamin Sesko both found the net before halftime, turning the contest into a procession. By the interval, United led 3-0, and Sabah were clinging on.
Lisandro Martínez forced home a scrambled fourth after the break, the kind of goal defenders secretly love: messy, physical, definitive. For United, it was their first Champions League game since December 2023. They did not waste the occasion.
Como’s golden generation gets front-row seats
In Como, the Champions League didn’t just arrive. It embraced its history.
For the club’s first-ever game in the competition, president Mirwan Surwaso and the board handed over the best seats in the stadium to supporters born in 1950 or earlier. The oldest fans, the ones who had seen the lean years and the long climbs, watched from prime positions as Como dismantled Leipzig 4-1.
They will never forget the first goal.
Croatian midfielder Martin Baturina etched his name into club folklore by scoring Como’s first-ever Champions League goal, setting them on their way to a famous win. From there, the Italian side played with the conviction of a team that had been at this level for years, not minutes.
Leipzig, seasoned in European competition, were outplayed and outgunned. On Como’s biggest night, the underdogs looked completely at home.
Roma, Fenerbahce, PSV and late drama in Prague
Elsewhere, the Champions League welcomed back two familiar names who have spent too long on the outside looking in.
Roma returned after seven seasons away, Fenerbahce after an absence stretching back to the 2008-09 campaign. Their meeting ended 1-1, and both left wondering what might have been.
Roma struck first. In the 39th minute, Bryan Cristante drove a low shot from outside the box into the net, a clean, controlled finish that briefly suggested a winning comeback for the Italian side.
Fenerbahce answered just after the interval. Left back Archie Brown surged forward, stepped into a center forward’s role, and produced the kind of deft flick over the goalkeeper that any striker would claim as their own. At 1-1, the game opened up.
Nathan Aké nearly stole it late on, thundering a header against the bar for Fenerbahce. The woodwork kept the points shared and left both clubs still searching for that perfect return.
In Eindhoven, United States full back Sergiño Dest made his mark for PSV. Trailing after Gleiker Mendoza’s opener for Shakhtar Donetsk, PSV needed a spark. Dest provided it, arriving in the box to meet a low cross and level the game at 1-1. It stayed that way, a hard-earned point for both.
The wildest finish of the night came in Prague. Slavia Prague, reduced to 10 men early in the second half, twice took the lead against Lens and seemed to have done enough. Then stoppage time arrived.
Lens struck twice at the death to win 3-2, ripping the result from Slavia’s grasp and turning a gritty, undermanned effort into a brutal lesson in how quickly Champions League nights can flip.
From Kane’s relentless streak to Como’s storybook debut, this week has already bent the competition’s narrative in new directions. The question now is who can keep this pace, and who has already burned through their moment of magic.
