Chelsea player ratings as three 4/10s struggle with Harry Kane sealing Bayern Munich win

Chelsea were beaten 3-1 by Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday night, with Cole Palmer scoring a world-class goal for the Blues at the Allianz Arena

Harry Kane stuck to his pre-match promise by scoring a crucial double for Bayern Munich to inflict pain on his long-time rivals Chelsea. The former Tottenham striker said before the game that he relishes coming up against those not so fond of him, namely the Chelsea supporters, and the England captain scored Bayern’s second and third goals in Munich to get the Germans off to the perfect start in the Champions League.

Chelsea, meanwhile, will be left scratching their heads despite having some positive moments at the Allianz Arena. Cole Palmer was the main positive from a Chelsea perspective, with the England international scoring with a world-class finish to get his side back into the game at 2-1. The Blues star also saw a late second goal ruled out by VAR after he was deemed offside.

Enzo Maresca made four changes from the squad that drew with Brentford at the weekend, with the Blues’ line-up almost identical – bar an injured Levi Colwill being replaced by Tosin Adarabioyo – to the one that triumphed over Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup final 66 days ago. Five of the starting XI were making their Champions League debuts, but they didn’t seem intimidated by the grandeur of club football’s biggest stage.

Malo Gusto was one of them, with the right-back managing to breach the Bayern defence early on. Just as they did against PSG in July, Chelsea launched long balls towards the speedy Gusto. However, Pedro Neto, who was also making his debut in the competition, couldn’t quite capitalise on Gusto’s cross.

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Chelsea enjoyed plenty of success attacking down the right flank early on, with Enzo Fernandez nearly breaking the deadlock after Palmer picked out his colleague unmarked in the Bayern penalty area.

However, it was the German giants who struck first when Trevoh Chalobah diverted the ball past his own goalkeeper following a menacing delivery from Michael Olise on the right wing.

That stroke of luck energised the hosts at the Allianz Arena, as Kane extended their advantage from 12 yards after the Three Lions skipper was brought down in the area by a reckless Moises Caicedo tackle.

“Yo Cold Palmer, Munich’s floor is lava!” proclaimed a banner held aloft by Bayern fans in the 75,000-capacity venue, though that metaphorical lava quickly cooled approaching the half-hour mark.

Palmer capped off a sublime counter-attack from the visitors with a superb effort into the top corner to reduce the deficit. The 23-year-old celebrated his 100th Chelsea outing by netting his 45th strike for the club.

Prior to Palmer’s goal, Joao Pedro was felled by Jonathan Tah – an incident that left Maresca absolutely furious on the sideline. The official had words with the Italian before brandishing a yellow card for his objections.

Maresca looked on as Palmer attempted once more to carry Chelsea on his shoulders whilst the Blues searched for a leveller in Bavaria. Sadly, it proved beyond even Palmer’s capabilities. The German titans extended their lead to 3-1 just past the hour, with Kane capitalising on Chelsea’s lax play.

Gusto carelessly lost possession and Bayern seized the opportunity, with Kane delivering a top-tier finish into the bottom corner. Bayern clung on to kick off their Champions League journey in style, while Chelsea now face increased pressure ahead of their home clash with Benfica in two weeks’ time.

Below, Bobby Vincent assesses the Chelsea squad based on their performance in Munich.

Robert Sanchez – 7

Can’t be blamed for any of the goals, really. Pulled off a massive save at the 60-minute mark to thwart Olise.

Malo Gusto – 6

Much like the Club World Cup final two months prior, Gusto found room down the right flank, with Chelsea’s strategy clearly favouring long balls to the Frenchman. Assists well for Palmer’s goal. Not so impressive for Kane’s second.

Trevoh Chalobah – 4

A bit of a disaster for Bayern’s opening goal – inadvertently turning it into his own net. It’s somewhat unlucky, particularly given Tosin Adarabioyo’s involvement in the goal.

Tosin Adarabioyo – 4

He doesn’t do himself any favours with Chalobah’s own goal. Tosin neglects the ball when he could have potentially cleared it, and Chalobah bore the brunt.

Marc Cucurella – 7

Jeered every time he got the ball. Didn’t faze him in the slightest. Chelsea’s pantomime villain is more than accustomed to that by now.

Reece James – 6

There were some truly positive moments in the heart of Chelsea’s midfield, although he may not have had as much ball possession as he would have preferred.

Moises Caicedo – 6

He clumsily brought Kane down for the penalty. He somewhat redeemed himself with some hard work in midfield, assisting Palmer’s goal.

Cole Palmer – 8

Deployed on the right flank, he netted a stunning goal to bring Chelsea back into the game in the first half.

Enzo Fernandez – 5

He should have done better with an early opportunity provided by Palmer. It wasn’t his finest performance in the No. 10 role.

Pedro Neto – 4

He struggled on the left wing and failed to make any significant contribution when Chelsea were on the attack.

Joao Pedro – 5

Despite some nice touches, he was up against a very physical Jonathan Tah for the first half. The Brazilian occasionally outplayed the German but found more success against the smaller Kim Min-jae. A mixed evening for the Chelsea forward.

SUBS

Andrey Santos (subbed on for James at 68′) – 6

He did alright, despite the challenging circumstances.

Alejandro Garnacho (subbed on for Neto at 68′) – 5

He struggled to get involved on the left flank.

Estevao Willian (subbed on for Fernandez at 81′) – N/A

He didn’t have enough time to make a significant impact.

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