Jamal Musiala Shines as Bayern Munich Demolishes Bodo/Glimt 5-0

The Allianz Arena held its breath on Tuesday night. Then it roared.

Jamal Musiala, back in Bayern Munich’s starting XI for the first time this season after a deeply worrying summer, walked out into the Champions League lights and turned a comeback into a statement.

Just a few weeks ago, his career had been thrown into doubt. The 23-year-old suffered collapses in pre-season, neurological dysfunctions that forced him off the pitch in friendlies against RB Leipzig and Heidenheim and triggered serious concern inside the club. His return began quietly with a substitute cameo against Schalke at the weekend. This time, Vincent Kompany went all in.

The Bayern coach didn’t frame it as a sentimental gesture. As he told Fabrizio Romano, Musiala “deserved to start, it’s not gifted.” On this evidence, he was right.

Musiala’s moment

Bayern had laboured through a tight, scratchy first half. FK Bodo/Glimt, the supposed underdogs with a very real reputation for wrecking reputations, dug in and refused to be overawed by the stadium or the occasion. They had already taken down Manchester City, Atletico Madrid, and Inter Milan in last season’s campaign. The Allianz Arena didn’t scare them.

They sat deep, squeezed the spaces, and let Bayern’s frustration grow. Joshua Kimmich rattled the post on 35 minutes, then forced Nikita Haikin into a sharp save just before the break. The tension in the stands was obvious. The scoreboard stayed blank.

Then, two minutes after the restart, the night changed.

Harry Kane, prowling outside the box, let fly with a fierce strike. It clipped defender Patrick Berg and spun awkwardly into the area. The ball dropped to Musiala. One touch, a swivel, and he thrashed his shot into the far corner. No hesitation, no sign of a player feeling his way back after a health scare. Just instinct and quality.

The celebration said everything: relief, release, and a sense that Bayern’s European campaign had finally kicked into gear.

Kane climbs higher

Once Musiala broke the lock, Bayern kicked the door off its hinges.

The pressure built and Bodo/Glimt, so compact in the first half, began to crack. On 61 minutes, Michael Olise stepped up over a free-kick and delivered the kind of ball coaches dream about – whipped, accurate, begging to be attacked. Kane obliged.

The England captain ghosted into space and met the cross with a thumping header to make it 2-0. Another goal, another milestone. It was his 55th in the Champions League and his 79th overall in European competition, numbers that push him ever deeper into the tournament’s elite scoring company.

From there, Bayern played with the swagger their fans expect.

Olise takes over, Davies adds the gloss

The final quarter of an hour turned into a showcase.

On 77 minutes, Alphonso Davies exploded into life. A trademark surge, a burst of pace that left defenders scrambling, and a cool finish for 3-0. Bodo/Glimt, so organised earlier, now looked drained and overrun.

Then Olise took centre stage.

Already influential from set pieces and open play, the former Crystal Palace winger added the ruthless edge. He struck in the 83rd minute, then again deep into stoppage time, completing a late brace that turned a solid win into a 5-0 demolition. His movement, timing, and finishing underlined why Kompany has made him such a key part of this new Bayern structure.

What had been a cagey contest for 45 minutes ended as a rout.

A streak that refuses to break

Beyond the scoreline, the result extended one of European football’s most remarkable runs. Bayern Munich have now won their opening match of a European campaign for 23 consecutive seasons.

You have to rewind all the way to 2002/03 to find their last defeat on matchday one, a 3-2 loss to Deportivo La Coruna. Since then: 23 opening games, 23 wins. Different coaches, different eras, different stars. The standard has not slipped.

This latest chapter carried a different kind of emotion, though. A young midfielder back from a frightening spell, a new coach staking his authority, and a team slowly sharpening its edge.

Next up is a trip to Norway on October 13th to face Viking Stavanger. Bayern will arrive with their streak intact, their confidence restored, and a simple question hanging over the rest of the continent: if this is how they look in September, what will they be by spring?