Kane strikes twice to fire Bayern past Chelsea 3-1 in Champions League opener

MUNICH, Germany - Forward Harry Kane scored once in either half to guide German champions Bayern Munich to a 3-1 victory over Chelsea in their Champions League opener on Wednesday.

The England striker scored Bayern's second goal with a 27th minute penalty after an own goal by Chelsea's Trevoh Chalobah had put the hosts in the lead in the 20th. 

Chelsea briefly rallied, with Cole Palmer pulling one back just two minutes later, but Kane, who has already scored five goals in three Bundesliga matches so far, struck again with a clinical low finish in the 63rd to settle the hosts' nerves.

Bayern, who crushed Hamburg SV 5-0 in the Bundesliga on Saturday, started their Champions League season with a win for the 22nd consecutive time and continued their unbeaten run across all competitions while Chelsea tasted defeat for the first time this season.

"Amazing result, top performance against a really good side," Kane said. "We went 2-0 up and it was disappointing to concede straight after the second goal.

"We stayed calm and did very well in the second half. We made it difficult for them to press. Then they got tired and the spaces started opening up. It was a tough, physical game. We're delighted with the result."

The Club World Cup winners, unbeaten in the Premier League, had an early chance with Enzo Fernandez in front of goal but Konrad Laimer blocked the shot at the last moment.

Bayern scored with their first chance of the game after Michael Olise cut into the box and Chalobah, under pressure from Bayern's Dayot Upamecano, turned the ball in for an own goal.

They doubled their lead in the 27th after Kane was brought down in the box and stepped up to convert the resulting spot kick. Their joy, however, was short-lived with Palmer,