Jamal Musiala's Remarkable Comeback in Champions League
The Allianz Arena did not just welcome back the Champions League on Tuesday night. It welcomed back Jamal Musiala.
Three months after collapsing in pre-season friendlies and facing down neurological scares that cast a shadow over his career, the 23-year-old walked back into Bayern Munich’s starting XI – and straight into the centre of the story.
Musiala’s comeback moment
Vincent Kompany had eased him in with a brief cameo against Schalke at the weekend. This was different. This was trust. This was the Champions League.
“He deserved to start, it’s not gifted,” Kompany said, as reported by Fabrizio Romano. On this evidence, the Belgian was right.
For 45 minutes, though, it looked like Musiala’s big night might be swallowed by frustration. FK Bodo/Glimt, the Norwegian side with a growing reputation for embarrassing Europe’s elite, dug in deep and refused to budge. Bayern moved the ball, probed the channels, but ran into a yellow wall.
Joshua Kimmich rattled the post in the 35th minute with a crisp strike from the edge of the box, then forced Nikita Haikin into a sharp save just before half-time. The Allianz Arena grew restless. Bodo/Glimt, who came to Munich boasting famous wins over Manchester City, Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan from last season, looked entirely comfortable in the role of spoiler.
Then, two minutes after the restart, the story changed.
Harry Kane unleashed a thumping effort from distance. It crashed into Patrick Berg, wrong-footing the defence and dropping kindly into the box. Musiala reacted in a flash. One swivel, one fierce, low drive into the far corner, and Bayern finally had their breakthrough.
No sign of rust. No sign of doubt. Just a clean, ruthless finish and a roar that sounded like both relief and release.
Kane hits another landmark
Once Musiala had broken the lock, Bayern kicked the door off its hinges.
On 61 minutes, Michael Olise stood over a free-kick and shaped the game again. The winger, already a key cog in Kompany’s attacking structure, whipped a superb delivery into the heart of the penalty area. Kane ghosted between defenders, timed his leap, and buried a header for 2-0.
It was more than just the goal that killed the contest. It was another milestone. That header marked Kane’s 55th goal in the Champions League and his 79th in European competition overall, numbers that place him firmly among the most prolific forwards the tournament has seen.
Bodo/Glimt, so compact and composed in the first half, began to unravel.
Olise takes over, Bayern run riot
The final quarter of an hour turned into a statement.
In the 77th minute, Alphonso Davies exploded down the left with the kind of acceleration that defenders dread. A sharp burst, a confident finish, and Bayern were three up, cruising and enjoying themselves.
Olise then stepped fully into the spotlight. The former Crystal Palace man struck in the 83rd minute, capping another sweeping Bayern move, and still wasn’t done. Deep into stoppage time, he added his second of the night to complete a late brace and seal a ruthless 5-0 scoreline.
What had been a tight, nervy contest for 45 minutes ended as a demolition.
A streak that stretches back decades
Behind the goals and the comeback narrative sits a remarkable statistic. This win extends one of European football’s most astonishing runs: Bayern Munich have now won their opening match of a European campaign for 23 consecutive seasons.
To find the last time they lost on matchday one, you have to rewind all the way to the 2002/03 season and a 3-2 defeat to Deportivo La Coruna. Since then, every European curtain-raiser has ended the same way – with Bayern on top. Twenty-three played, twenty-three won. Relentless.
The next chapter comes in Norway on October 13, when Bayern travel to face Viking Stavanger. With Musiala back, Kane scoring at will and Olise growing in influence, the question is no longer whether this team can handle Europe’s stage.
It’s who is going to stop them.
