Chelsea’s Champions League comeback ended with a 3-1 defeat against Bayern Munich in Germany. Still, Cole Palmer insists the Blues are not approaching this campaign as a “learning curve.”
The young forward emphasized that Chelsea intend to compete at the highest level right away. “We are not coming here for it to be a learning curve,” Palmer said.
“We have shown tonight we want to compete and we want to do as best as we can.”
A Costly Night in Munich
Chelsea had not featured in the Champions League since April 2023. Enzo Maresca’s side created chances but defensive errors defined the night.
Trevoh Chalobah turned into his own net after Michael Olise’s cross. Soon after, Moises Caicedo conceded a penalty that Harry Kane converted. Cole Palmer pulled one back, yet a mistake from Malo Gusto gifted Kane his second.
Head coach Maresca accepted the mistakes but maintained his team could grow from the setback. “You cannot commit mistakes in the way we have done,” he said. “But I just said to the players, it’s a game that we can learn a lot from, and build something special from this defeat.”
Nevin Warned of the Step Up
Former Chelsea winger Pat Nevin said the outcome was no surprise. “It was the kind of performance that I expected from Chelsea,” Nevin told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“The jump you need to do to come to places like this is quite big and a number of players just don’t have that experience yet. They weren’t able to do it as a group today.”
Nevin highlighted that Bayern’s experience and quality kept them “a good distance ahead” of Chelsea.
Inexperience Exposed
Chelsea fielded their third-youngest team ever in the Champions League. The squad had just 117 combined appearances. In contrast, Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer alone has 131 games in the competition.
Big-money signings Moises Caicedo and Marc Cucurella made their first appearances at this level. Even Maresca, managing his first Champions League game, waited too long to make changes after Bayern’s third goal.
A Challenge for Chelsea
Chelsea had lifted the Conference League and Club World Cup earlier this year, but the Champions League is a different test. Palmer’s firm stance shows the squad want to be contenders, not observers.
The message is clear: Chelsea must learn quickly, minimize errors, and prove they belong among Europe’s elite.
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