Chelsea’s return to the Champions League was undone by costly mistakes, as Cole Palmer admitted their own errors gifted Bayern Munich a 3-1 victory at the Allianz Arena.
Harry Kane, once again tormenting his former Premier League rivals, scored twice as the Blues faltered in their league-stage opener.
Palmer, who netted a superb strike himself, insisted the defeat was avoidable.
Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea side started brightly in Munich but collapsed under pressure with three defensive lapses.
Trevoh Chalobah’s own goal opened the scoring, Moises Caicedo conceded a penalty converted by Kane, and Malo Gusto’s mistake handed the England captain another goal.
Palmer struck with a fine goal, but it was not enough to rescue the Blues against Vincent Kompany’s ruthless side.
Palmer opens up on Chelsea’s costly mistakes
“I thought we played well. We’ve shown we deserve to play here,” Palmer said.
“The three goals we conceded were our own fault. We had chances. We deserved better than what we got.
“We started well. We had early chances to score, but when you make mistakes at the back it’s always difficult to come back into the game.
“It was a lack of concentration, and not managing the moments correctly.
“I feel like we showed we can play against the best teams in the competition.
“The manager said to us before (the game) that he knows we can go toe-to-toe.
“I think we showed that despite the result.
“To be back in the competition is nice, we just need to kick on from here.
“We are not coming here for it to be a learning curve. We want to compete.”
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Chelsea’s return to Europe’s biggest stage highlighted both promise and fragility in equal measure.
While Palmer’s goal and their attacking approach showed clear progress under Maresca, defensive lapses ultimately decided the contest.
Kane’s brace was a reminder of his ruthless efficiency, and the Blues will need to cut out costly errors to stand a chance of progressing deep into the tournament.
Chelsea looking to iron out mistakes
Chelsea will look to regroup quickly ahead of their next Champions League clash against Jose Mourinho’s Benfica, where they cannot afford to repeat the same mistakes.
Maresca will be tasked with shoring up defensive concentration while keeping Palmer and the attack firing. Meanwhile, they shift their focus towards the Premier League.
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