{"id":19268,"date":"2025-09-16T06:04:51","date_gmt":"2025-09-16T06:04:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=19268"},"modified":"2025-09-16T06:04:51","modified_gmt":"2025-09-16T06:04:51","slug":"revamped-bayern-face-early-test-as-chelsea-come-to-town","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=19268","title":{"rendered":"Revamped Bayern face early test as Chelsea come to town"},"content":{"rendered":"
Bayern Munich’s revamped line-up faces an early test in their Champions League opener at home against Club World Cup winners Chelsea on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

A rematch of the 2012 final at the same venue, won on penalties by the English club, Bayern have little time to settle after a summer of upheaval, particularly up front.<\/p>\n

Forwards Leroy Sane, Kingsley Coman, Thomas Mueller and Mathys Tel all left in the summer. Only two replacements have been brought in: Luis Diaz, from Liverpool, and Nicolas Jackson, from Chelsea on loan.<\/p>\n

With Jamal Musiala and Alphonso Davies out with long-term injuries, the lack of summer activity earned Bayern some rare criticism from talisman Harry Kane.<\/p>\n

Not known for controversial statements, the 32-year-old Kane called Bayern’s squad “thin”, adding “maybe one of the smallest I’ve had in my career.”<\/p>\n

With four goals and two assists in his opening five games, Diaz has hit the ground running in Germany.<\/p>\n

But Chelsea, crowned Cup World Cup winners after a dominant display against Paris Saint-Germain just two months ago, are likely to pose a sterner test.<\/p>\n

Like Chelsea, Bayern are expected to make it out of the league phase but have their sights set on qualifying directly and avoiding another two-legged knockout tie.<\/p>\n

Last year, Bayern finished 12th and struggled to get past Celtic, winning 3-2 on aggregate.<\/p>\n

Kane admitted on Saturday the extra burden cut their momentum later in the season.<\/p>\n

“It’s important to be in the top eight because that extra game can make a big difference.<\/p>\n

“Last year, playing that Celtic game home and away in our busiest period, it made a big difference, and we ended up losing a few players after that period in March.<\/p>\n

“It’s important to start well.”<\/p>\n

Just over 13 years since Chelsea upset Bayern in their own backyard, both sides have since won another Champions League title.<\/p>\n

Mueller’s summer departure leaves Bayern captain Manuel Neuer as the only player from either team set to take part on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

– Jackson’s ‘hard role to play’ –<\/p>\n

Jackson came off the bench in his Bayern debut on Saturday and is unlikely to start against his parent club on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

But moments after Jackson’s debut, the England captain said the Senegal striker was more than just a “back-up.”<\/p>\n

“I think a lot of people assume that, but he’s someone who can play across the whole front four, and I think there’ll be many times we’ll play together.<\/p>\n

“I don’t see him as a back-up — I see him as an attacking player who can help us.”<\/p>\n

With Kane, Diaz, Michael Olise and Serge Gnabry impressing for Bayern this season, Jackson will have limited opportunities at first — a difficult task for a player often criticised for missing crucial chances.<\/p>\n

It is a role familiar to former Bayern striker Claudio Pizarro, who became a super-sub behind Mario Gomez, Mario Mandzukic and later Robert Lewandowski during a near 15-year association with the club.<\/p>\n

Pizarro, who also had a stint at Chelsea, told AFP in Berlin on Saturday: “In my situation during my time at Bayern, I knew my job.<\/p>\n

“I have to come in, score my goals, be ready to do my thing when I have the chance.<\/p>\n

“It’s a hard role to play. I hope (Jackson) will adapt like Luis (Diaz).”<\/p>\n

A six-time German champion, Pizarro said Jackson’s arrival could unleash healthy competition like that which drove Bayern to the treble in 2013, a year after the painful loss to Chelsea.<\/p>\n

Pizarro revealed how the rivalry between his former teammates Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery on each wing pushed Bayern to greater heights.<\/p>\n

“One wanted to be the best, the other as well: Franck and Arjen. They were great for us, but they always wanted to be better than the other.<\/p>\n

“It was a good fight.”<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bayern Munich’s revamped line-up faces an early test in their Champions League opener at home against Club World Cup winners Chelsea on Wednesday. A rematch of the 2012 final at the same venue, won on penalties by the English club, Bayern have little time to settle after a summer of upheaval, particularly up front. Forwards […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19268","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19268","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19268"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19268\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19268"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19268"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}