Bayern Munich took down Manchester United in what was a wild finish to a match that seemed like the Bavarians were firmly in control of.

It ended up as a 4-3 win for the Bavarians, but it was not exactly the kind of victory that had everyone scrambling to anoint Bayern Munich as the runaway favorite for the competition. The attack was scintillating, but the defense…well, not so much. Let’s take a look at some quick hitters on the match:

• As always, let’s take a look at the starting lineup:

• There was speculation that Thomas Müller might start, but it felt like Jamal Musiala was going to get the nod if he was fully cleared. The edict has clearly been that is Musiala can go, he will go. Also, the dreams that some have for Müller and Musiala to play together just do not seem likely to happen. If you want a Tinfoil Hat Theory on why that might be, you could surmise that Bayern Munich is deathly afraid of irritating Musiala given his close ties to England. If the kids wants to be the No. 10, he is going to play the No. 10.
• Konrad Laimer got another start over Noussair Mazraoui, which is very interesting — especially in a game of this magnitude. Laimer was not great, but maybe not as horrible as some others thought he was on the night.
• Otherwise, it was not surprising to see Kingsley Coman on the bench in favor of Leroy Sané and Serge Gnabry or Matthijs de Ligt backing up Dayot Upamecano and Kim Min-jae. Those situations seem pretty settled at the moment under Tuchel.
• The entire backline needs a bit of a wake-up call after the performance, though. It would not be shocking to see Mazraoui and De Ligt in the lineup vs. VfL Bochum.
• It felt like Bayern Munich was a little fortunate that Alphonso Davies’ challenge in the 5th minute did not go for a penalty. It was not egregious by any means, but these days, you just never know. Either way, Sven Ulreich made a terrific save on the play to bail out his unfocused foursome on the backline.
• The game, itself, was extremely choppy early with neither team really able to establish itself.
• Marcus Rashford gave some looks early that he might be a problem for Laimer and the Bayern Munich defense.
• Bayern Munich did break through the malaise with a goal from Leroy Sané in the 28th minute. When you are as hot as Sané has been, you sometimes get a bit lucky on a goal. After playing a crafty, little one-two with Harry Kane, Sané unleashed a not-so-powerful shot that somehow eluded André Onana, who may or may not have been paying attention. Regardless, Sané stayed red hot in terms of scoring.
• Just four minutes later, Gnabry added another after a spectacular drive down the left-side from Musiala. Once Musiala was stopped he gathered himself and found Gnabry dipping into space for an easy goal. Just a tremendous effort from Musiala. The rout…was on. Or at least most of us thought it was.
• Not to sound sooooo “boomer-ish” here, but too often streaming companies cannot get a broadcast correct. The audio and video were not synched, so many of us kept hearing what was happening before it actually happened.
• Bruno Fernandes had a LEGENDARY airmail in the first half.
• Rasmus Højlund did give Manchester United some life to start the second half with a goal in the 49th, but that momentum was quickly erased by a handball call on Christian Eriksen, which resulted in a penalty. That was a tough call on Eriksen, but per the rules, it was a penalty.
• Højlund did well for himself and showed some the vast potential we had heard about in the match.
• Harry Kane buried his attempt from the spot to make it 3-1 Bayern Munich in the 53rd minute.
• Musiala and Sané combined for a chance in the 56th minute, which hit the post and would have been a contender for the club’s goal of the month.
• Sané’s movement off the ball has been outrageously good.
• You would have thought the game was over at that point…but no.
• Casemiro had a spectacular goal while on the ground to cut it to 3-2 in the 88th minute before Kimmich found super-sub Mathys Tel for a spectacular goal to make it 4-2 in the 2nd minute of added time. Like Jason Voorhees or Michael Myers, though, Manchester United — and Casemiro in particular — just kept coming back for more.
• Lisandro Martínez was really trying to goad Kane into doing something stupid. What a dope.
• Kane, meanwhile, was fantastic, What a performance from a guy who is showing he is much more than just a target man.
• Casemiro got his second goal of the contest in the 5th minute of added time to make it 4-3 and that is how the game would end.
• Overall, it was a very up-and-down performance from Bayern Munich. The squad lost focus toward the end of the match and it was not exactly the best of performances from the backline…but that attack, man…was it good or what? So good, in fact, that Manchester United had no answers. Getting the win was more important than anything, though, and Bayern Munich just did that.

If you missed our Initial Analysis, Match Awards, Observations, or Postgame Podcast, give them a look and/or a listen:

According to a report from the Daily Mail, Bayern Munich might not have been able to get Harry Kane during the summer transfer window if Manchester United would have given the player some “assurances” on things for 2024:

Harry Kane would have waited until next summer to sign for Manchester United if he was given assurances over a move to Old Trafford, United Confidential can exclusively reveal.

Kane will make his Champions League debut for Bayern Munich against United at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday night after joining the Bundesliga club from Tottenham in a deal worth up to £100million. However, Kane had set his heart on United and would have seen out the final 12 months of his contract at Spurs before signing for Erik ten Hag’s side as a free agent next year if he knew the deal was guaranteed to go ahead.

Kane was Ten Hag’s top target but United couldn’t afford his transfer fee and wages on their limited budget this summer and abandoned their pursuit of the 30-year-old England captain. Ten Hag switched his sights to a younger and cheaper option in Rasmus Hojlund which convinced Kane that his hopes of becoming a United player either this year or next were over. A week after Hojlund signed for United in a £72m deal, Kane completed his move to Bayern.

It is no secret that there was mutual interest between Kane and Manchester United, but it was always unclear as to how close an actual move was to going down. It would be interesting to know what kind of “assurances” Kane needed to play out his deal with Tottenham Hotspur for one more season before jumping to the Red Devils.

Former Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær opened up on his time at the helm of the club and talked through some of the major happenings that occurred when he was in charge.

On signing Harry Kane…

On bringing back Cristiano Ronaldo…

On acquiring Jadon Sancho…

So Bayern Munich are set to begin their Champions League campaign by hosting Manchester United at the Allianz Arena. While Utd may not be in great form, this is the type of fixture that draws the attention of the footballing world, simply because the names of the teams involved tend to attract a ton of attention. Given that Bayern have not lost a group stage game since 2017, Thomas Tuchel is under a lot of pressure to deliver immediate results here.

In this episode, INNN discusses the following:

• The state of Manchester United heading into the game.
• Who Erik ten Hag could rely on as danger men — Rashford, Højlund, and Fernandes.
• Why Erik ten Hag is under pressure.
• How should Thomas Tuchel line up his team versus Man United?
• Why Jamal Musiala could be a great option vs United.
• Is Tuchel in trouble if he fails to win?
• Changing gears — what is going on behind the scenes at the DFB? Why did KHR resign, and is Nagelsmann gonna be the next coach?
• Why is Gündogan now captain of Germany?

Former Bayern Munich treble-winner (and true unsung hero of that miraculous run) Ivan Perišić tore his ACL for Tottenham Hotspur:

Youssoufa Moukoko’s career has not quite taken off like some had hoped at Borussia Dortmund and the youngster appears to be “unhappy” with his playing time at the club.

FC Barcelona and Chelsea FC might be willing to help him out with that (at least theoretically):

Youssoufa Moukoko is unhappy with his game time at Borussia Dortmund, with Barcelona and Chelsea prepared to offer him a route out of Germany.

It is not time to label Moukoko a bust, but he has not taken advantage of the opportunities that he has been given. The striker just had not been…good since getting mountains of hype.

Maybe a change of scenery would be good for him.

Before Xavi Simons joined RB Leipzig over the summer, he had strong interested from Borussia Dortmund:

Borussia Dortmund were closing in on the signing of Xavi Simons over the summer, but the deal fell through because the Bundesliga side wanted a purchase option in the loan deal, Bild reports.

According to Bild, a specific demand prevented Borussia Dortmund from signing Xavi Simons, who instead joined RB Leipzig on loan from Paris Saint-Germain. The report claims that Dortmund were in good talks to sign Simons, who saw good development opportunities at Signal Iduna Park.

However, the Black and Yellows were ultimately unable to reach an agreement with his club, Paris Saint-Germain. According to Bild, the sticking point was that Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl demanded a purchase option, something PSG didn’t agree to.

Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen hooked up for the Bundesliga’s marquee showdown of the weekend.

With two teams that were rolling heading into the international break, it was a shame that they had to meet on a Friday night to kick things off. The extra day of preparation might have done both teams some good, but the game was closely contested either way.

Bayern Munich got off to an electric start, but fizzled just when Bayer Leverkusen was ready to mount a challenge. In the end, the final score was a crazy 2-2 draw that featured many swings of emotion.

Here is what we have on tap for this episode:

• A look at Thomas Tuchel’s starting lineup.
• A rundown of the scoring.
• Some thoughts on how Bayern Munich looks at this point.
• Exploring Mathys Tel’s ability to create from the outside and Leon Goretzka dramatic goal — and how just a little sloppiness from Alphonso Davies killed Bayern Munich at the worst possible time.