On Wednesday 17 September, Chelsea return to the stadium where we famously won the Champions League in 2012.

It will be our second game there since, and our first with fans present. The second leg of our last-16 tie in 2019/20 took place behind closed doors during the pandemic.

Bayern have the second-highest UEFA coefficient, so by that ranking this will be our toughest fixture of the league phase, but what an exciting one it is to mark our return to Europe’s top table.

Factfile

Full name: Fußball-Club Bayern München
Country: Germany
City: Munich
Formation: 1900
Major honours: 34 Bundesliga titles (most recently 2025), six European Cup/Champions League titles (most recently 2020), 20 German Cups (most recently 2020), one UEFA Cup (1996), one Cup Winners’ Cup (1967)
Head coach: Vincent Kompany
2024/25 league finish: 1st
Stadium: Allianz Arena (known as Munich Football Arena in UEFA competitions)
Colours: Red and white
Nickname: Die Bayern (The Bavarians), Die Roten (The Reds)
Rivals: Borussia Dortmund, 1860 Munich

Champions League history

Bayern first competed in the European Cup in 1969/70, exiting in the first round to Saint Etienne. They won the tournament in consecutive years in 1974, 1975 and 1976. The first of those successes is the only time the final has gone to a replay – Atletico Madrid were beaten.

They lost their next five finals, starting with a defeat to Aston Villa in 1982, and finishing thirty years later when we stunned them in their own stadium. Bayern at least partly avenged that loss the following year, defeating Borussia Dortmund at Wembley to complete a treble.

They also won the Covid-affected tournament in 2020, edging past Thomas Tuchel’s PSG 1-0 in Lisbon.

2024/25 season

After a rare trophyless campaign, Bayern comfortably recaptured the Bundesliga title in Vincent Kompany’s first season in charge.

However, they fared less well in the cup competitions, beaten in the quarter-finals of the Champions League and Club World Cup by Inter Milan and PSG respectively, and losing to Bayer Leverkusen in the DFB-Pokal Round of 16.

2025/26 season so far…

Bayern started the season with silverware, beating Stuttgart 2-1 in the German Super Cup, and they then opened their Bundesliga campaign with a 6-0 thrashing of RB Leipzig.

Kompany’s side followed that up with back-to-back 3-2 away wins, surviving a cup scare against third-tier Wehen Wiesbaden and maintaining their flawless start at Augsburg.

*As of 3 September

Current squad

Bayern’s squad is littered with world-class players, Germany internationals and former Premier League stars.

Nicolas Jackson’s loan move was confirmed on deadline day and he joins fellow forwards Harry Kane, Michael Olise, Serge Gnabry, Luis Diaz and Jamal Musiala. Musiala suffered a serious injury during the Club World Cup, however, and will not feature.

Manuel Neuer is still in goal and skippers the side, while Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka and Jonathan Tah are all regulars for the national team.

Notable former players

Bayern have enjoyed the services of a veritable who’s who of Germany greats, including but certainly not limited to: Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Muller, Sepp Maier, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Lothar Mattheus, Oliver Kahn, Michael Ballack, Phillipe Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger, and Thomas Muller, who is the club’s record appearance maker.

Many of the class of 2012 that Chelsea beat stand among their highest foreign appearance makers, among them Frank Ribery, Arjen Robben and David Alaba.

Previous Champions League meetings

2004/05 quarter-final

Chelsea 4-2 Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich 3-2 Chelsea (Chelsea win 6-5 on aggregate)

2012 final

Bayern Munich 1-1 Chelsea (Chelsea win 4-3 on penalties)

2019/20 Round of 16

Chelsea 0-3 Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich 4-1 Chelsea (Bayern win 7-1 on aggregate)