Bayern Munich has made history by becoming the first team to score nine goals in a match in the modern Champions League era, kicking off the new format of Europe’s premier club competition on Tuesday. Defending champions Real Madrid and Liverpool also secured wins.
Harry Kane was the standout performer, netting four goals—including three from penalties—as Bayern thrashed Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb 9-2 at the Allianz Arena. Michael Olise made an impressive Champions League debut with two goals, while Raphael Guerreiro, Leroy Sane, and Leon Goretzka also contributed to the scoreline.
Despite being 3-0 down at halftime, Dinamo threatened a comeback by scoring twice within two minutes early in the second half, thanks to Bruno Petkovic and Takuya Ogiwara. However, Bayern responded decisively, scoring six goals starting from the 57th minute.
“It was an amazing and somewhat crazy game,” Kane remarked to broadcaster DAZN. “It’s the first time I’ve scored three penalties in a match; that doesn’t happen often.”
Bayern was the last team to score eight goals in a Champions League match, achieving that feat against Barcelona in the quarter-finals in 2020.
This remarkable performance highlighted the opening night of the revamped Champions League, which now features 36 teams pooled together in one large league instead of the previous group stage format. Each team will play eight matches against different opponents, with the top eight automatically advancing to the last 16. Teams finishing from ninth to 24th will enter a play-off round to compete for the remaining spots, while the bottom 12 will be eliminated.
UEFA introduced this new format to counter the threat of a breakaway Super League by major clubs, hoping to revitalize interest in the competition.
