The invincibles: Bayern’s remarkable Champions League opening record | OneFootball

When FC Bayern kicks off the new Champions League season on Wednesday evening (9 PM, live on DAZN), the spotlight will not only be on a high-profile clash against the reigning Club World Champion FC Chelsea. It's also about defending a streak that has lasted for over two decades: Since 2003, the Munich team has won each of their opening matches in the Champions League – 21 times in a row.

The Oktoberfest will traditionally be opened by Mayor Dieter Reiter next Saturday. Almost as naturally, it seemed recently that Bayern would successfully manage their first game in the Champions League. Since a narrow 2-1 against Celtic Glasgow in September 2003, when two late goals by Roy Makaay saved the opener, the record champion has always started the competition with a victory.

It is a series that is unmatched across Europe. Whether against top teams like Inter Milan (2-0, 2022), FC Barcelona (3-0, 2021), Manchester United (4-3, 2023), or Atlético Madrid (4-0, 2020) – the Munich team regularly proved that they are wide awake even at the start of the Champions League. Since then, FCB has won 93 out of 128 matches in the group or league phase, which corresponds to a win rate of 73 percent.

The only blemish in the long history: Only twice in a total of 29 participations was the first game lost, most recently in 2003 against Deportivo La Coruña – also due to a hat-trick by Makaay, who later became a Bayern hero himself.

Chelsea as a Real Test

Photo: Getty Images

It is clear to all involved that continuing the series will not be a walk in the park. Chelsea, the reigning Club World Champion, awaits, having only recently prevailed in the final against Paris Saint-Germain. Sports director Max Eberl spoke before the game of an "exciting and high-caliber duel" and emphasized: "I don't think they have gotten any worse since then."

Harry Kane also expressed confidence: "Chelsea is a really good team, but here in the Allianz Arena, we can beat any team in the world. We have to go into the game with that mindset."

Coach Vincent Kompany, meanwhile, pointed to his team's current form. After five consecutive competitive wins, they go into the match "full of confidence." "The Allianz Arena is an important factor, we are playing at home and have repeatedly gained momentum throughout the season so far," said the Belgian.

However, Jonathan Tah warned against putting the series in the foreground: "That always sounds very, very nice. But in the end, we try to win every game with this team. It's nice if it works out in the first game, but we also want to win the second and the third. We will have to give it our all for that."

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.