Bayern chasing No.21

It was 2002 when Bayern last time lost the opening game in the UEFA Champions League, suffering a 3-2 defeat to the Spanish Deportivo de La Coruna. Since then, the Bavarians have participated in the UCL 20 times (in the 2007/2008 season, the Munich side was part of the UEFA Cup) and won every single opening game of each campaign!

Truth be said, Bayern often faced some lesser-known names in European football like Rapid Wien, Steaua Bucharest, Maccabi Haifa, or Viktoria Plzen, but there were also some genuine opening-game derbies. For instance, a 1-0 triumph over Man City in 2014, resolved by Jerome Boateng's late winner.

Still, in the past four years, serious opponents have waited for the Munich side at the first step. In 2020, the Germans crushed Diego Simeone's Atletico 4-0 behind Kingsley Coman's brace and Leon Goretzka and Corentin Tolisso's goals. A year later, Barcelona were brushed aside 3-0 as the current Catalans' forward Robert Lewandowski netted a brace and Thomas Muller added another one.

Two years ago, the Bavarians defeated the future finalists, Inter Milan, 2-0 thanks to Leroy Sane's opener and Danilo D'Ambrosio's own goal. Finally, at the beginning of the previous campaign, Bayern and Man United put on a seven-goal spectacle, ending in the Germans' victory - 4-3. Interestingly, United's goals - scored by Rasmus Hojlund and Casemiro (2) - were three out of only five Bayern conceded in the 20 games mentioned above! At the same time, the Munich side scored 51!

Bayern aiming for ultimate glory with home Champions League final in sight

Now, after four tricky openings, Bayern have - in prospect - an easy task as the Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb arrive at Allianz Arena. The two teams met only twice in the past, in the 2015/2016 UCL group stage. The Bavarians noted two clean-sheet victories - 5-0 in Munich and 2-0 in Zagreb.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 1

Tuesday

19:45: (1.85) Juventus (3.50) PSV (4.40)

19:45: (5.20) Young Boys (4.10) Aston Villa (1.70)

22:00: (3.80) AC Milan (3.60) Liverpool (2.05)

22:00: (1.15) Bayern (8.00) Dinamo Zagreb (16.0)

22:00: (1.33) Real Madrid (5.90) Stuttgart (9.50)

22:00: (1.75) Sporting (3.60) Lille (4.90)

Wednesday

19:45: (1.95) Bologna (3.60) Shakhtar (4.30)

19:45: (2.45) Sparta Praha (3.40) Salzburg (2.85)

22:00: (1.37) Celtic (5.20) Slovan B. (10.0)

22:00: (3.80) Club Brugge (3.50) Dortmund (2.10)

22:00: (1.55) Man.City (4.10) Inter (6.00)

22:00: (1.42) PSG (4.60) Girona (7.50)

Thursday

19:45: (4.20) Crvena Zvezda (3.60) Benfica (1.95)

19:45: (4.40) Feyenoord (3.70) Leverkusen (1.80)

22:00: (4.10) Atalanta (3.50) Arsenal (1.90)

22:00: (1.80) Atl.Madrid (3.60) RB Leipzig (4.60)

22:00: (1.90) Brest (3.60) Sturm (4.50)

22:00: (4.60) Monaco (3.60) Barcelona (1.80)

***odds are subject to change***