FC Bayern beats Chelsea in the Champions League: Victory despite Hoeneß' Hoffenheim thesis

The mood was still high on the subway line 6 train, which jolted from the FC Bayern arena in northern Munich toward the city center about half an hour after midnight. A group of men, whose members were all clearly identifiable as fans of the German record champions by their jerseys, scarves, and other merchandise, made the following, not entirely serious, suggestion: "We can now adopt the FC St. Pauli T-shirts – World Cup winners conquerors."

To explain: In February 2002, the Hamburg neighborhood club beat FC Bayern, then the reigning champions of the Intercontinental Cup, and had matching shirts printed to commemorate the victory. These shirts became cult objects and remain part of St. Pauli folklore to this day. The small neighborhood club defeated the mighty Munich team—that was truly a sensation, the ultimate underdog story.

At the start of the Champions League, FC Bayern effectively became the World Cup winners themselves with their 3-1 victory over Chelsea – the club that won the first edition of the revamped Club World Cup this summer. However, it's not to be expected that the Munich team will dedicate a T-shirt to the match afterward. Being on par with the international elite is – unlike St. Pauli – part of Bayern's identity. Although: the 3-1 victory against the Club World Champions was certainly a bit of an underdog.

Due to the financial dominance of the Premier League clubs, Munich's honorary president Uli Hoeneß had recently verbally downplayed his club, declaring it, if not the FC St. Pauli of the Champions League, then at least the Hoffenheim of Europe. With their victory against Chelsea, the Bayern players countered this comparison. They showed that they might be miscast for the underdog role. The success suggested that Bayern are capable of beating any opponent. And not just like that, but with absolute aplomb.

In an entertaining encounter, the Munich team outperformed the expensively assembled Chelsea squad in all categories: possession, passing accuracy, total number of shots, and number of shots on target. The victory was never seriously in jeopardy. A fact that brought particular satisfaction to all involved: "We put in a solid 90-minute performance against a very good team," said Bayern coach Vincent Kompany. National team captain Joshua Kimmich spoke of a "mature and grown-up performance" by FC Bayern. And Harry Kane, a standout with two goals, placed the match in the context of the still-young season: "This was our biggest test so far. Winning and maintaining the momentum was very important."

The Munich team warned against overvaluing the victory, and rightly so. Chelsea aren't part of the ultimate elite of European football, Club World Cup titles notwithstanding. The matches against Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain and English runners-up Arsenal (both in November) are likely to be Bayern's toughest tasks in the Champions League group stage. Nevertheless, the record champions' players left their home stadium with deep satisfaction at having countered the talk of their lack of a chance against English clubs with a commanding victory against an English club.

Central defender Jonathan Tah, who was substituted at halftime due to the risk of a yellow card or red card, even described the debates surrounding Munich's supposed underdog status as "disrespectful" – forgetting that their own honorary president, Uli Hoeneß, had significantly fueled these debates. "If everyone stays healthy and fit, we can compete with any team," Joshua Kimmich summarized the lesson Bayern drew from their victory against Chelsea – and immediately offered the crucial qualification.

Munich are more dependent on injury-free play than other Champions League clubs. While Chelsea, for example, have practically several shiploads of players in their squad, and Liverpool FC acquired three extremely expensive attacking players within a few weeks (Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak, and Hugo Ekitiké, all of whom came for a combined total of more than €360 million), Munich's squad is stretched to the limit.

This was noticeable in the defense against Chelsea: Because left-back Josip Stanisic (knee injury) had to leave the field after Tah, the Munich team played much of the second half with a makeshift defense featuring skilled midfielder Konrad Laimer on the left. You probably won't win the Champions League with such a setup. For now, however, FC Bayern are content with their title as Club World Cup winners.