For matchday two of the 2025/26 Champions League, Bayern Munich visited the Alphamega Stadium in Cyprus to take on the reigning Cypriot Champions, Pafos.
The gulf in class was evident from the opening whistle on Tuesday night. The German Champions dictated proceedings from the outset and raced out to a 4-0 lead inside of 35 minutes courtesy of a brace from Harry Kane and a goal apiece from Raphael Guerreiro and Nicolas Jackson. Just before the half-time break, Pafos Captain Mislav Orsic got his team on the scoresheet, against the run of play, with a well-struck long-range shot.
Bayern remained dominant during the second 45-minute period, but they weren’t as ruthless in front of goal as they were in the first half. Even so, Michael Olise capped off the scoring when he scored the fifth and final goal midway through the half. Let’s take a look at the three players who stole the show in Bayern’s dominant 5-1 thrashing of Pafos.
Michael Olise
Michael Olise was truly magical in Cyprus. In the first half, he sliced and diced his way through the Pafos defense, carving it open seemingly almost at will. Just about every time Olise got on the ball in the final third, Bayern looked threatening. In the 15th minute, he set up Harry Kane for the opening goal with a deft pass through the inside right channel. Just past the half-hour mark, after drawing multiple defenders, he squared the ball to Nicolas Jackson to stroke home Bayern’s third.
Olise was withdrawn after 73 dominant minutes, but not before he made it 5-1 by following up after Jackson’s initial shot from close range was parried by the keeper.
A goal and two assists don’t paint the full picture in terms of how brilliantly creative the 23-year-old forward was on the night. It was a man-of-the-match performance from Olise, and at times it looked effortless.