"So it turns out it is one thing to beat teams like Flamengo, ES Tunis, Benfica and Palmeiras in a cash-bloated, glorified set of summer friendlies and call yourselves World Champions. And it is quite another to come to the home of a European giant like Bayern Munich in the season's opening round of the Champions League and find out what a proper competition looks like."
"It is quite another thing, too, to come up against a striker like Harry Kane in a competition that matters. Kane was at his clinical best against his old adversaries. He scored twice and pulled Chelsea's defence to pieces. This was very much a reality check for Enzo Maresca and his team."
"It was not that they disgraced themselves. In fact, Cole Palmer looked like one of the best players in the world with a performance, and a goal, that dragged Chelsea back into the game in the first half after they had threatened to implode. But this was not the exhibition football in which they were involved in the States. This was real."
At the Allianz Arena Chelsea lost to Bayern Munich in the Champions League's opening round, exposing weaknesses despite recent Club World Cup success. Harry Kane scored twice, dominated as a clinical striker and repeatedly tore Chelsea's defence apart. Cole Palmer produced a strong performance and scored to briefly revive Chelsea, but the team could not match Bayern's intensity. Bayern extended a remarkable home unbeaten run in Champions League group matches to 35 games. The result served as a harsh reality check for Enzo Maresca's side and underlined the gap between exhibition victories and competitive European football.
Read at Mail Online
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