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Bayern Silence Critics with Statement Win Over Chelsea

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Farah Ben Gamra | Last updated Sep 19, 2025 3:23 PM ET

Bayern Munich’s 3–1 win against Chelsea in the Champions League was more than just about three points, it was a statement.

In recent weeks, the Bundesliga and Bayern have had a deluge of criticism around whether Germany’s top club can still keep it up with the very best clubs in Europe.

The narrative has been amplified by Bayern’s difficult summer transfer window, with high-profile departures from the league (such as Thomas Müller) and the belief that the Premier League and LaLiga are distancing themselves even further.

Critics were saying Bayern’s European “dominance era” was in the rearview and a few went as far as calling the Germans “the underdog” in the European competition stage.

Jonathan Tah fires back at Bayern’s critics

This was the context behind Bayern as they gave Chelsea a thorough beating in their opening game of the group stage. At the end of the match, new signing Jonathan Tah gave a reply to all the increased criticism that will make Bayern fans happy.

"A lot has been spoken. Some of it was a bit disrespectful from what I’ve heard. We do our talking on the pitch, we did that today. We made a statement and we should keep going that way. FC Bayern have never been and will never be underdogs. We don’t need to talk a lot about that, as I said we do our talking on the pitch.”

Jonathan Tah on all the talk belittling the Bundesliga and saying that Bayern don't have a chance in the Champions League: "A lot has been spoken. Some of it was a bit disrespectful from what I've heard. We do our talking on the pitch, we did that today. We made a statement and… pic.twitter.com/FwntFoBGZc
— Bayern & Germany (@iMiaSanMia) September 17, 2025

For Tah, who came to Bayern this summer after he was captain of Bayer Leverkusen to win the Bundesliga, his message to the rest of the team was clear: Bayern’s reputation and aims are unchanged; it must be earned and defended on the pitch, not headlines.

Tah’s comment seems to reflect the general mood inside the Bayern dressing room under new coach Vincent Kompany. The new coach has placed importance on togetherness during pre-season and wanted to make sure to put light on the necessity of results over rhetoric.

Bayern’s early successes in Europe give some early credibility, but the test will be to sustain that in the Bundesliga and Champions League.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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