Harry Kane scores in Bayern win as Manchester United victorious on Champions League return
Manchester United is back to winning ways in the Champions League, Como made itself at home with a debut win, and Harry Kane can't stop scoring.
A 5-0 rout for Bayern and a 4-0 win for United were statement victories against overmatched opponents, while Como's success showed it belongs at Champions League level.
Off the field, it was a less clear-cut situation at Fenerbahce, where coach İsmail Kartal appeared to announce his resignation suddenly after a 1-1 draw with Roma, without fully explaining his motivations, but the club didn't confirm he'd leave.
It's been a big week already in the Champions League for Ballon D'Or nominees. Kane scored once and Michael Olise twice in Bayern's demolition of last season's sensation Bodø/Glimt. The Norwegian team crumbled in the second half after starting goalkeeper Nikita Haikin went off injured at halftime with the score at 0-0.
Kane heading in Bayern's second goal meant the England striker has now scored in eight consecutive Champions League games stretching back to January.
Bayern's opening goal was scored by Jamal Musiala in his first start since on-field seizures caused by a neurological condition which disrupted his preseason. He celebrated by tapping his head.
“The feeling I had today is one I haven't had in a while. I'm happy and I know I still have steps forward to take,” he told broadcaster Prime Video.
United returned to the Champions League with a bang after a nearly three-year absence from the competition.
Matheus Cunha, Bruno Fernandes, Benjamin Sesko and Lisandro Martinez all scored in the 4-0 rout of Azerbaijan’s Sabah, which was making its Champions League debut.
It was United’s first game in the Champions League since December 2023.
Cunha fired United ahead at Old Trafford in the 27th. Fernandes and Sesko made it 3-0 by halftime and Martinez scrambled home a fourth after the break. That could help stabilize things for United and coach Michael Carrick after an up-and-down start to the season including a loss to Hull and draw with Everton.
“The result looks comfortable; it wasn’t always like that, but I thought we just did a lot of good things tonight, which gave us a good result,” Carrick told TNT Sports.
Como's oldest fans had the best seats in the house to see their team beat Leipzig 4-1 in the team's first-ever game in the Champions League.
The Italian club's president Mirwan Surwaso and directors gave up prime seats to fans born in 1950 or earlier. Croatian midfielder Martin Baturina scored the first-ever goal for Como in the competition to set the team on course for the win.
The post-game confusion over Fenerbahce's coach ended a game which saw both teams end long absences from the Champions League but neither able to claim a win. A statement on Fenerbahce's website attributed to club president Aziz Yıldırım indicated he expected Kartal to stay in his job.
Roma had missed seven Champions League seasons since reaching the last 16 in 2018-19, while Fenerbahce was last in Europe's top-tier competition in the 2008-09 campaign.
Roma took the lead on Bryan Cristante's low shot from outside the box in the 39th minute. Fenerbahce left back Archie Brown moved into a center forward position and looked like a natural striker as he flicked the ball over the goalkeeper to level the score in the 48th. Nathan Aké headed against the bar late on with a chance to win the game for Fenerbahce.
United States full back Sergiño Dest scored for PSV Eindhoven off a low cross in a 1-1 draw with Shakhtar Donetsk after Gleiker Mendoza had opened the scoring for the Ukrainian team.
Lens scored twice in stoppage time to win 3-2 at Slavia Prague, which twice took the lead despite having Mikulas Konecny sent off three minutes after he was substituted on for the start of the second half.
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AP Sports Writers James Robson and Jerome Pugmire contributed to this report.
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