Chelsea are ready to thrive in Europe's elite competition - Cole Palmer insists
Cole Palmer says Chelsea do not consider this edition of the European tournament as a "learning curve" - since they want to be successful in it straight away.
The manager's team were outplayed as they lost 3-1 to a more experienced Bavarian side at Allianz Arena on the matchday.
It was the club's first outing in the competition since April 2023 - and the game suggested a young team will need to reflect on what it takes to succeed at that tier.
But manager the coach indicated his side can learn plenty from the defeat and "create something special" - while attacker the player has dismissed the idea that they can't do that quickly.
"We are not entering here for it to be a experience builder," he said. "We have shown tonight we want to fight and we want to do as strong as we can."
Chelsea won the global trophy in last month, defeating PSG in East Rutherford, having lifted the UECL two months earlier, but their former forward Pat Nevin always believed the UCL was going to be a tougher test.
"It was the sort of showing that I foresaw from the Blues," the expert stated. "A lot observers were saying prior that they were going to make an impact in this league, they are Club World Cup champions and such, but I was saying, 'steady on'. The jump you must to do to come to venues like this is quite significant and a handful of members just haven't have that knowledge at this point. They couldn't equipped to do it as a team today."
The team acknowledge shortcomings
The coach may have been broadly pleased with his team's performance, but conceded they lost "complete attention for the whole 95 minutes".
He continued: "I think the players were well knowledgeable of this tournament, of the obstacles. You should not commit mistakes in the way we have committed, but I just said to the group, it's a match that we can take a lot from, and build something great from this defeat."
The side fared well, notably early on when their attacker and their playmaker missed good opportunities, but lapses hurt them.
They lost focus at a set-piece, letting Munich's attacker Michael Olise open to send a ball that the defender deflected into his net. Then midfielder Caicedo fouled Kane to offer a foul - which the forward scored.
After the attacker had pulled a strike in reply, Harry Kane sealed victory in the second half when defender the Frenchman surrendered the ball.
They were each team mistakes against ruthless rivals. The German side - a club who have triumphed in their first match in every of their previous 22 European campaigns - know the demands at this tier, in a way the current London side have yet to.
Will Chelsea fix their youth?
The pundit added: "The game couldn't be quite veterans vs rookies, but the German giants were clearly a significant distance superior of the visitors here. The errors they made were very immature and they were punished, not just for the finishes, but for a multitude of opportunities besides that. It's what happens with young players performing in this league, but they will learn from that. The standard is highest. It is a leap. And that jump may take them a some time."
Lack of exposure may certainly have been an issue: Away from home, the Blues selected their very youthful ever UCL team.
Their whole 24-man roster entered midweek's game with merely 117 outings in the competition across them. By contrast, keeper Neuer, 39, has played 131 games in the Champions League for the club alone.
His colleagues Harry Kane, the midfielder and Serge Gnabry have significant experience at this tier. By contrast, Chelsea duo the midfielder and the defender were playing their debuts in the competition despite being part of the squad's star figures.
Additionally manager Enzo, previously in Guardiola's coaching set-up during the Citizens' recent triple-winning campaign, may have to step up to this standard.
It felt as if a another Bayern score was imminent for a several minutes prior to the forward netted it - but the coach seemed delayed to act, and only introduced adjustments when his squad had been 3-1 behind.
It was not enough, yet delayed.