After a few years away, Chelsea are finally back in Champions League action tonight.
It won’t be an easy reintroduction to Europe’s premier competition, though, as Enzo Maresca’s Conference League winners will be taking on Bayern Munich.
The German champions are stacked with incredible players in every position, but the one the Blues have to be most wary of is undoubtedly Harry Kane.
The England captain has the ability to take games away from teams, although Chelsea have a superstar of their own, someone who could well outshine Kane.
Chelsea's record against Bayern Munich
Despite both Bayern and Chelsea being two of the biggest clubs in European football and consistently competing for the top prizes in recent decades, they’ve only played one another in five competitive games.
The first was back in the 2004/05 season, in which the Baverians travelled to West London for the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final, a game the hosts won 4-2, which was then followed by a 3-2 win for the German giants in the second leg.
However, the most famous meeting between the two institutions came just over 13 years ago, when Roberto Di Matteo’s side managed to beat the odds and claim their first Champions League title by beating Jupp Heynckes’ men 4-3 on penalties.
It was in that game that Didier Drogba scored his most famous goal for the Blues, and Petr Čech played a crucial role by saving a penalty from Arjen Robben in extra time.
Unfortunately, FC Hollywood have had the upper hand in the two games since that incredible final.
They demolished Frank Lampard’s side 3-0 at Stamford Bridge in the first leg of their round-of-16 clash in February 2020, and then completed the job with a 4-1 win when the competition resumed that August after the first lockdown.
In all, while Bayern have won most of their encounters, Chelsea fans wouldn’t swap their records thanks to that famous night in Munich. Although with that said, Maresca will be looking to improve that record tonight, and so long as he starts the player who could upstage Kane, then there is every chance he will.
Chelsea star could outshine Kane
While they’ve received plenty of criticism for their transfer strategy over the years, Chelsea now have a team packed with brilliant players.
Chalkboard
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The likes of Moises Caicedo, Joao Pedro and Enzo Fernández could get into most top teams around Europe, but without a doubt, the Blues’ best player is Cole Palmer.
The former Manchester City gem is the definition of a game-changer, and should he be on song against Bayern, there is every chance he could outshine Kane.
While the England captain is that bit more prolific a goalscorer, almost everything good the West Londoners do goes through their dazzling number ten, so much so that GOAL’s Sean Walsh once suggested that he is “Lampard, Drogba & Hazard all in one”, combining the best attributes of three Stamford Bridge legends.
Rather unsurprising, Chelsea’s fortunes changed for the better when he came on at the weekend, entering the fray on Saturday in the 56th minute and just five minutes later scoring the equalising goal for his side.
It was hardly a surprise, though, as in 99 appearances for the Pensioners, totalling 7984 minutes, the “generational talent,” as dubbed by journalist Scott Bradley, has scored 44 goals and provided 29 assists.
In other words, the 23-year-old has maintained an average of a goal involvement every 1.35 games, or every 109.36 minutes, which is frankly absurd.
Appearances
99
Minutes
7984′
Goals
44
Assists
29
Goal Involvements per Match
0.73
Minutes per Goal Involvements
109.36′
Moreover, he proved himself to be a big-game player at the Club World Cup, scoring two goals in the final against a heavily favoured Paris Saint-Germain.
Ultimately, while Bayern will be the favourites, Chelsea have every chance of coming away with all three points tomorrow night, especially if Palmer starts and is on song.