Champions League Highlights: Kane's Streak, United's Return, Como's Debut

The Champions League group stage is barely underway and it already belongs to the stars, the streaks and one very old fanbase on Lake Como.

Harry Kane is still relentless. Manchester United have remembered who they are supposed to be. And Como, of all clubs, just turned their debut into a celebration for the ages.

Kane’s streak rolls on as Bayern crush Bodø/Glimt

Ballon d’Or nominees set the tone this week and Kane led the charge.

Bayern Munich tore apart last season’s surprise package Bodø/Glimt 5-0, a game that flipped completely after halftime. At the break it was 0-0 and tense. Then Bodø/Glimt lost starting goalkeeper Nikita Haikin to injury, and the dam burst.

Jamal Musiala struck first on his return to the starting lineup, his first start since on-field seizures caused by a neurological condition derailed his preseason. He finished, then tapped his head in a pointed, personal celebration. A statement that he is back.

The pressure kept coming. Kane rose to head in Bayern’s second and extend a remarkable run: he has now scored in eight consecutive Champions League games, a streak stretching back to January. Defenders know what’s coming. They still can’t stop it.

Canada’s Alphonso Davies added the third, surging into the scoresheet as Bayern turned control into a rout. Michael Olise then piled on with two goals of his own to complete the demolition, Bayern running riot while Bodø/Glimt simply unraveled.

Old Trafford lights up again

Manchester United have been gone from this stage for almost three years. They returned with noise.

Back in the Champions League for the first time since December 2023, United dismantled Azerbaijan’s Sabah 4-0 at Old Trafford, a scoreline that matched the mood as much as the performance.

Matheus Cunha broke the deadlock in the 27th minute, firing United ahead and settling any nerves in the stands. Once the first went in, the night belonged to the home side.

Bruno Fernandes and Benjamin Sesko both struck before halftime, turning a solid start into a full-blown statement. By the interval it was 3-0 and the contest felt over.

Lisandro Martínez then scrambled in a fourth after the break, a defender’s goal in a forward’s scoreline, wrapping up a win that did more than just deliver three points. It reintroduced United to the competition with the kind of authority they have lacked in recent European campaigns.

Como’s elders take the best seats for a historic night

On the shores of Lake Como, the Champions League anthem sounded for the first time. The club chose to mark the occasion in a way that said everything about its sense of place.

President Mirwan Surwaso and the board gave up their prime seats to the oldest supporters, fans born in 1950 or earlier. Those who had waited longest sat closest to the pitch as Como made its debut in Europe’s elite competition.

They didn’t just witness history. They watched a beating.

Como swept aside Leipzig 4-1 in their first-ever Champions League match. Croatian midfielder Martin Baturina wrote his name into club folklore with the opening goal, the first the Italian side has ever scored in this tournament. From there, Como never looked back, riding the emotion of the night and the noise of a crowd that understood the scale of what it was seeing.

For a club that has spent most of its life far from this spotlight, it was a dream start delivered in front of the people who had waited a lifetime.

Roma, Fenerbahce and PSV feel the weight of the wait

Not every returning giant found the same joy.

Roma and Fenerbahce both came back to the Champions League after long absences and had to settle for a 1-1 draw that left both wondering what might have been.

Roma, missing from the competition for 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 clean finish that looked set to crown their return.

Fenerbahce, playing their first Champions League campaign since 2008-09, refused to play the role of grateful guests. Left back Archie Brown pushed into a center forward’s position early in the second half and finished like a natural striker, flicking the ball over the goalkeeper in the 48th minute to level. Late on, Nathan Aké crashed a header against the bar with a chance to steal the win for the Turkish side. Inches from a perfect comeback story.

In Eindhoven, the United States had its own moment. Full back Sergiño Dest arrived in the box and swept in a low cross to score for PSV in a 1-1 draw with Shakhtar Donetsk, cancelling out Gleiker Mendoza’s opener for the Ukrainian club. PSV had the ball, Shakhtar had resilience, and the points were shared.

Late drama in Prague

The wildest finish of the night belonged to Lens.

Slavia Prague, reduced to 10 men right at the start of the second half, twice took the lead and still somehow lost. Lens refused to accept defeat and turned stoppage time into their own stage, scoring twice at the death to snatch a 3-2 win.

It was the kind of ending that reminds every club in this competition of one thing: in the Champions League, no lead is safe, no script is fixed, and no night is ever really over until the whistle goes.

With Kane scoring at will, United resurgent, and Como crashing the party, this season already feels like it’s preparing a few more shocks. Who blinks first?