Thriller in Prague

LIVE: Bayern Still Goalless – Bodø/Glimt Puts Up a Fight

Bayern scored all five goals in the second half.(Bild: AFP/MICHAELA STACHE)

FC Bayern gave Bodø/Glimt no chance in their 5-0 home victory. Como celebrated the first Champions League victory in the club’s history with a 4-1 win over RB Leipzig, while Manchester United also defeated Sabah FK 4-0. Slavia Prague squandered two leads while down a man and lost 2–3 to RC Lens.

As usual, FC Bayern kicked off the Champions League with a win. Jamal Musiala (47'), who returned to the starting lineup, Harry Kane (61'), Alphonso Davies (77'), and Michael Olise with two goals (83', 92') secured Munich’s 5-0 home victory over Bodø/Glimt after a scoreless first half. For the 23rd consecutive time, Bayern thus secured a full three points to kick off the “Champions League.” RB Leipzig, on the other hand, lost 1–4 to debutant Como.

Manchester United handily defeated Sabah 4–0. Paul Wanner and PSV Eindhoven had to settle for a 1–1 draw at home against Shakhtar Donetsk. Fenerbahçe and AS Roma also drew 1–1 in Istanbul. Lens won 3–2 at Slavia Prague.

Bayern stepped up their game after halftime
Bayern, with right back Konrad Laimer in the lineup, struggled for a half against last season’s surprise team. Manuel Neuer had little to do in his 162nd Champions League appearance; however, just as in their scoreless match at Schalke, the Munich side lacked offensive punch against the visitors from the far north.

  Musiala would ultimately break Bodø’s scoreless streak. The 23-year-old, who had been rested following two collapses in preseason matches in recent weeks, got a somewhat fortunate touch on the ball and placed his shot perfectly. Kane finally sealed the victory with a header off an Olise free kick. Laimer’s day on the field came to an end after 64 minutes. Davies scored the third goal with a thunderous strike from about 20 meters out, and Olise sealed the rout with an equally impressive brace. For the Norwegians, Odin Björtuft was shown a red card in the closing minutes (88th) for denying a goal.

Debutant Como Surprised“
 ” Leipzig left the field as the losing team at Lake Como’s Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia, which holds just 12,000 spectators. Martin Baturina scored the opening goal for the debutants after a quarter of an hour and also set up the 2-0 goal by Tasos Douvikas (38th minute) with a beautiful through ball. Shortly before that, Leipzig had a good chance to equalize through Nicolas Seiwald.

  In the midst of a period of pressure from the Germans, Assane Diao (54') added another goal for the Italians. Como even missed a huge chance to make it 4-0, but just one minute later, Andrija Maksimovic (58') pulled one back after a mistake in Como’s build-up play. RB coach Martin Demichelis then took Seiwald off and bolstered the offense. However, against a Como side that was sitting deeper and deeper, they were unable to score the equalizer. Maximo Perrone (90th) scored the fourth goal for Cesc Fabregas’s team.

Manchester Cruises toVictory
 In Manchester, the home team, the “Red Devils,” secured a comfortable victory against the underdog from Azerbaijan. Sabah managed to hold the tie for only 26 minutes. Matheus Cunha (27th min.), Bruno Fernandes (42') and Benjamin Sesko (45') put the team up 3–0 by halftime. Lisandro Martinez (68') added another. Coach Michael Carrick was able to conserve energy for Sunday’s Premier League showdown against Manchester City.