Champions League: FC Bayern wins opening match against Chelsea

Harry Kane scores and Bayern Munich wins – essentially, everything was perfectly normal at the Champions League opener. Nevertheless, Munich's 3-1 victory against Chelsea on Wednesday evening was anything but ordinary. Rather, the German champions made a statement with their victory against the Club World Cup winners .

"It was a strong performance against a very good opponent. It was a difficult game, we are very relieved," said Kane, who scored twice in a TV interview after the match and called the 3-1 win "a great result."

Before kickoff , Bayern Munich's honorary president Uli Hoeneß had projected his club as an outsider in the Champions League due to the financial superiority of other European clubs such as Real Madrid, Paris St. Germain, Manchester City, Liverpool, and Chelsea. Munich coach Vincent Kompany, on the other hand, confidently declared the title as their goal.

"The boys not only did their jobs, but also showed enthusiasm for the game," said the Belgian after the match. "We very deserved to win."

Manuel Neuer celebrates 100th victory

Bayern Munich's goalkeeper and captain Manuel Neuer was also pleased. The former national team keeper achieved his 100th victory in his 151st Champions League match. He is only the fourth player to reach this milestone, following Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, his long-time Bayern colleague Thomas Müller , and Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas.

"It's a nice number," Neuer said, remaining modest. "It's much more important to have won these victories with the team."

Borussia Dortmund squanders victory against Juventus

Borussia Dortmund would have also hoped for a win, and BVB actually looked like the sure winners against Juventus Turin on Tuesday evening – until things changed. Although Dortmund went into stoppage time with a 4-2 lead, the Italian record champions equalized with goals in the 94th and 96th minutes.

What was particularly annoying was that Dortmund practically invited their already beaten opponent to score goals with easy ball losses and a too casual demeanor.

"Mistakes will be punished, even more so at this level than usual. We have to be aware of that," said angrily BVB goalkeeper Gregor Kobel. "It's about simply being aware of the danger, what can happen, because they have quality, and it can happen quickly."

Juventus' Lloyd Kelly celebrates after his late equaliser against Borussia Dortmund — Dortmund can't believe it: Lloyd Kelly has actually equalized for Juventus . Image: Giuliano Marchisciano/IPA Sport/IMAGO

Surprisingly, the officials sounded less dissatisfied. "Even if it sounds a bit skewed after the last few minutes, I'm satisfied with the team's performance," said Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl. "We did a lot of things really well."

Coach Niko Kovac also praised his team for a "great performance" and felt that only the final two minutes marred the positive impression. "We would have normally finished it differently. We didn't, and that's the annoying thing. But regardless, I still maintain: It was a very, very mature team performance up until the 94th minute."

The other two Bundesliga teams, Bayer Leverkusen and Eintracht Frankfurt, will not start the new Champions League season until Thursday evening.

Games with German participation:

Bayern Munich - Chelsea 3:1 (2:1) Goals: 1-0 Chalobah (20'/own goal), 2-0 Kane (27'/penalty), 2-1 Palmer (29'), 3-1 Kane (63')

Juventus Turin - Borussia Dortmund 4:4 (0:0) Goals: 0:1 Adeyemi (52'), 1:1 Yildiz (63'), 1:2 F. Nmecha (65'), 2:2 Vlahovic (68'), 2:3 Couto (74'), 2:4 Bensebaini (86'/hand penalty), 3:4 Vlahovic (90'+4), 4:4 Kelly (90'+6)

FC Copenhagen - Bayer Leverkusen (Thu. 6.45 p.m.)

Eintracht Frankfurt - Galatasaray Istanbul (Thu. 9 p.m.)

The remaining results of the first matchday:

Athletic Bilbao - Arsenal FC 0:2 (0:0)

PSV Eindhoven - Union St. Gilloise 1:3 (0:2)

Real Madrid - Olympique Marseille 2:1 (1:1)

Benfica Lisbon - FK Karabakh Agdam 2:3 (2:1)

Tottenham Hotspur - Villarreal FC 1:0 (1:0)

Slavia Prague - FK Bodö/Glimt 2:2 (1:0)

Olympiacos Piraeus - Pafos FC 0:0

Ajax Amsterdam - Inter Milan 0:2 (0:1)

Liverpool FC - Atlético Madrid 3:2 (2:1)