Champions League Highlights: United, Kane, Como Shine

The Champions League group stage has barely cleared its throat and already the storylines are piling up. Manchester United returned with a statement, Harry Kane stretched a remarkable scoring run, and debutant Como turned its first night on the big stage into something close to a fairy tale.

Kane, Olise and Bayern crush Bodø/Glimt

For Ballon d'Or nominees, this week has felt like a showcase.

Harry Kane scored again, Michael Olise struck twice and Bayern Munich dismantled last season’s surprise package Bodø/Glimt 5-0, a scoreline that barely flattered the German champions once they found their rhythm.

At halftime, the tie sat on a knife edge at 0-0. Then Bodø/Glimt lost starting goalkeeper Nikita Haikin to injury. The Norwegian side never recovered.

The pressure finally told. Jamal Musiala, making his first start since on-field seizures caused by a neurological condition disrupted his preseason, broke the deadlock. He finished, then tapped his head in a pointed, personal celebration.

Kane climbed to head in Bayern’s second, extending his run to eight consecutive Champions League games with a goal, a streak stretching back to January. Defenders knew exactly what was coming. They still couldn’t stop it.

Canada’s Alphonso Davies added the third, and Bayern simply ran away with it. By the final whistle, Bodø/Glimt’s early resistance felt like a different match.

United back with a bang

Old Trafford has missed nights like this.

After nearly three years away from the Champions League, Manchester United returned with a 4-0 dismantling of Azerbaijan’s Sabah in their first game in the competition since December 2023.

The tone changed in the 27th minute. Matheus Cunha snapped United into life, firing the hosts in front and shaking off any lingering tension in the stands.

Once the door opened, United strode through it. Bruno Fernandes and Benjamin Sesko struck before halftime to make it 3-0, the kind of ruthless spell that has often deserted United in recent European campaigns.

Lisandro Martinez then scrambled in a fourth after the break, a defender’s goal in a night that felt, for once, uncomplicated. No late drama. No nerves. Just a clean, emphatic win and the sense that United had remembered how these evenings are supposed to feel.

Como’s golden generation gets front-row seats

In Como, history came with wrinkles and walking sticks – and the best seats in the house.

For the club’s first-ever game in the Champions League, president Mirwan Surwaso and his directors handed over prime spots to fans born in 1950 or earlier. Those who had lived through the lean years watched their team tear into Leipzig and win 4-1.

Croatian midfielder Martin Baturina wrote his name into club folklore with the opening goal, Como’s first in the competition. From there, the Italian side settled, grew in confidence and made a heavyweight visitor look distinctly uncomfortable.

The scoreline underlined it. This wasn’t a token appearance from a plucky newcomer. Como looked like it belonged.

Roma, Fenerbahce and the long road back

Not every returning giant found the same release.

Roma and Fenerbahce both ended long absences from the Champions League but had to share the points in a 1-1 draw that left each side with a twinge of frustration.

Roma, back after missing seven straight seasons since reaching the last 16 in 2018-19, struck first. Bryan Cristante drilled in a low shot from outside the box in the 39th minute, a precise finish that seemed to set up a winning comeback on Europe’s main stage.

Fenerbahce, playing in the competition for the first time since the 2008-09 campaign, refused to play the supporting role. Left back Archie Brown wandered into a center forward’s position early in the second half and finished like he had always lived there, flicking the ball over the goalkeeper in the 48th minute to level the match.

The Turkish side almost stole it. Nathan Aké rose late on and crashed a header against the bar, inches away from turning a solid night into a perfect one.

Dest on target, Lens stun Slavia

Elsewhere, the night kept throwing up twists.

United States full back Sergiño Dest found the net for PSV Eindhoven, arriving to meet a low cross and level the match in a 1-1 draw with Shakhtar Donetsk. The Ukrainian side had led through Gleiker Mendoza, but PSV clawed their way back to avoid an opening setback.

Then came the chaos in Prague.

Slavia Prague, reduced to 10 men at the start of the second half, twice took the lead against Lens and looked ready to cling on. Instead, the French side produced a stoppage-time heist, scoring twice at the death to win 3-2 and rip the points from Slavia’s grasp.

On a night of comebacks, returns and debuts, it felt fitting that the final word went to late drama. And with this kind of opening, what does the rest of this Champions League campaign still have in store?