Cole Palmer points finger of blame after Chelsea loss to Bayern Munich

Chelsea were beaten 3-1 by Bayer Munich as the Blues return to the UEFA Champions League after two-and-a-half years ended in defeat.

Despite going into the match full of confidence, Enzo Maresca’s squad suffered disappointment at the Allianz Arena, as Trevoh Chalobah’s unfortunate own goal and Harry Kane’s double sealed a well-deserved triumph for the German giants.

Palmer netted his team’s solitary strike in the opening period, capping off a slick move by exchanging passes with Malo Gusto before slotting past Manuel Neuer.

Following the match, Palmer accused Chelsea of failing to handle the big moments. The England international pinpointed exactly where things unravelled for the Blues in a candid post-match discussion.

Harry Kane scores and celebrates Bayern München’s third goal during the Champions League match against Chelsea (Photo by Ulrik Pedersen/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Speaking to TNT Sports, Palmer said: “Yeah [frustrating]. We deserved more. We started well, had early chances but when you make mistakes at the highest level it’s difficult.

“There was a lack of concentration, not managing the moments correct.

“We showed we can play against one of the best teams in the competition. We deserved more to be honest. The manager said to us before we can go toe-to-toe.

“It’s a good learning curve and to be back in the competition is nice. I don’t even know [what happened in the second half]. We’re not coming here to be a learning curve. We showed we want to compete.”

Palmer was on top form for the Blues, thinking he’d netted a second late in the game, nudging the ball past Neuer after a cracking pass from Andrey Santos, but VAR chalked it off for an offside earlier in the play.

Giving his verdict on Chelsea’s overall performance, Maresca said after the match: “I think overall the performance was quite good. We started very well for 20 minutes, creating chances.

“When we conceded the goal, we can avoid that kind of goal. We were in the game and scored.”

Chelsea are next up against Manchester United in the Premier League on Saturday. The London club will be eager to get all three points against Ruben Amorim’s team.