Bayern Munich and Manchester United secure dominant wins in Champions League opener

Bayern Munich breaks Bodo/Glimt resistance

Bayern Munich secured second place in the Champions League table on Thursday evening with a 5-0 victory over Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt at the Allianz Arena. The opening 45 minutes remained scoreless as Bodo/Glimt resisted Bavarian pressure, with Joshua Kimmich missing the clearest chance when his penalty-spot effort was saved by the visiting goalkeeper, who left at halftime with an injury. The German side broke through less than a minute after the restart when Jamal Musiala converted a rebound from a Harry Kane shot. Kane doubled the lead in the 61st minute by heading in a Michael Olise free kick from the right wing. Alphonso Davies added a third from distance in the 77th minute, before Olise completed the scoring with a brace in the 83rd and 92nd minutes under manager Vincent Kompany.

Manchester United eases past debutant Sabah

At Old Trafford, Manchester United claimed a 4-0 win against Azerbaijani debutant Sabah to finish the opening round fourth in the standings. Brazilian forward Matheus Cunha opened the scoring in the 27th minute by finishing a low delivery from Patrick Dorgu on the left. Bruno Fernandes doubled the advantage in the 42nd minute following buildup play from Youri Tielemans, and Benjamin Sesko made it 3-0 three minutes later after rounding the goalkeeper. Defender Lisandro Martinez scored the final goal in the 68th minute during a goalmouth scramble. The victory provided relief for manager Michael Carrick following a start in the Premier League that left the club 11th with four points from three matches ahead of their weekend derby against Manchester City. Michael Carrick evaluated his team's offensive display following the final whistle.

“At times we played great football and our attacking play was fantastic.”

Como debuts with convincing victory over RB Leipzig

At the Giuseppe Sinigaglia stadium, Como recorded a 4-1 victory against RB Leipzig in their first Champions League fixture, six years after competing in Italy's Serie C during the 2019-2020 campaign. Martin Baturina opened the scoring by capitalizing on a defensive error from Leipzig, before Anastasios Douvikas extended the lead to 2-0 with a finish on a fast counterattack. Assane Diao added the third goal after receiving an assist from Nico Paz, and Maximo Perrone completed the home side's tally with a finish on a matching break, leaving Andrija Maksimovic's response as a consolation. Spanish manager Cesc Fabregas won the tactical duel against RB Leipzig coach Martin Demichelis.

“I am happy, it is a historic match, but the joy will last me five minutes because we have to prepare for the next match.”

Standings and remaining Thursday fixtures

Matchday 1 concluded with 18 fixtures played across Europe since Tuesday. Defending champion Paris Saint-Germain holds first place in the table following Wednesday's 6-1 victory over Slovan Bratislava, leading second-placed Bayern Munich on goals scored despite identical plus-five goal differentials. FC Barcelona ranks third following a 5-1 win over Feyenoord, with Manchester United sitting fourth with a plus-four goal difference. Elsewhere on Thursday, RC Lens secured a 3-2 comeback away to Slavia Prague through two stoppage-time strikes, as Florian Thauvin headed in an equalizer before Ruben Aguilar struck a low right-footed shot from outside the box. AS Roma drew 1-1 away at Fenerbahce, while PSV Eindhoven and Shakhtar Donetsk played out a 1-1 draw in Eindhoven.

Paris Saint-Germain6

Bayern Munich5

FC Barcelona5

Manchester United4

Paris Saint-Germain

6 goals

Bayern Munich

5 goals

FC Barcelona

5 goals

Manchester United

4 goals

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