Chelsea are back in the Champions League, but Bayern prove too much to handle

MUNICH -- There was a horrible consciousness of familiarity astir Chelsea's decision to Bayern Munich.

By the 70th minute, the Bayern fans were greeting each walk with "Olé"; the triumph celebrations had started. For each their efforts, endeavor and eagerness successful Munich, Chelsea's defence crumbled erstwhile it needed to beryllium astatine its resolute best, and Harry Kane and his Bayern teammates profited to win 3-1.

For truthful overmuch of this, it felt similar the crippled was being played astatine its stretched limit. The lucifer was taut; some teams were playing with incredibly precocious lines, parking hazard and reward close connected the precipice of the contest. With co-controlling owners Behdad Eghbali and Todd Boehly some successful the stadium tonight, Chelsea started truthful well. They pressed Bayern with a relentlessness akin to what we saw successful the FIFA Club World Cup triumph implicit Paris Saint-Germain, with Malo Gusto enjoying the state of the close wing.

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Everything was going good until it stopped going to plan. And Kane, alongside the outstanding Michael Olise, were determination to nett and unpick Chelsea's optimism to springiness them a nasty invited backmost to the UEFA Champions League aft a two-season hiatus.

Chelsea's antiaircraft errors fto them down. While they pressed with large urgency up front, each of Bayern's 3 goals tin beryllium blamed connected the Chelsea defense. For Bayern's first, they switched disconnected from a driblet shot successful the mediate of the parkland arsenic Joshua Kimmich recovered Olise. Olise twisted and turned and fired a shot crossed the box. Three Chelsea defenders missed and it deflected disconnected the unfortunate Trevoh Chalobah for an ain goal.

For the second, Olise recovered Kane successful acres of space, and helium turned Moisés Caicedo, who promptly floored him successful the box. Kane vs. Robert Sánchez from the spot? 2-0 Bayern. Chelsea pulled 1 backmost from a fantastic end-to-end move, which started and finished with Cole Palmer aft a one-two with Gusto.

But Chelsea failed to physique connected this. They grew frustrated, arsenic manager Enzo Maresca became ever much exasperated connected the touchline and posed small menace successful the 2nd half. Instead, it was Bayern who pulled the strings arsenic Mar...