Bayern Munich left it very very late to beat Celtic 3-2 on aggregate and qualify for the round of 16 after a poor performance against the visitors.
A poor first 45 from Bayern as, especially in the first 20 minutes, Celitc caused them a few scares with Callum McGregor, Daizen Maeda and former Bayern youth player Nicolas Kühn all having decent chances which should have put them level on aggregate. However, as the second half went on, Bayern gained control of the game but still struggled to really challenge Kasper Schmeichel in the Celtic goal until right at the end when Harry Kane’s effort hit the crossbar.
When the teams came out after the break it was obvious that nothing had changed. Bayern continued to look way off the pace of the game and that gave the visitors a chance. Then they got that chance in the 63rd minute when a Maeda ball is deflected by Min-Jae Kim’s interception right into the path of Kühn who slotted past Manuel Neuer to give Celtic the lead on the night and equalise on aggregate. Bayern did improve after some second-half substitutions but would continue to have their fair share of chances which Kasper Schmeichel dealt with.
However, there is a word for this in German football lingo ‘Bayern Dusel’ which translates as Bayern Luck or undeserved luck.
That is the best way to describe what happens next. Celtic had put in a valiant display and just needed to defend this final attack before the game went to extra-time. A cross is played into the box, which Goretzka headers into the path Schmeichel who deflects the shot right into the path of Alphonso Davies who bundles the ball home to send Bayern through to the round of 16.
This was a horrible performance from Bayern, they played similar to how they did against Bayer Leverkusen at the weekend, while the fact that Celtic over 180 minutes did not look miles apart from them says everything. They were simply not good enough and against a better team later in the competition they will be exposed. Celtic’s performance also shows that Bayern are no longer invincible as first thought, and that eight-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga does not look as comfortable as it did on Monday with difficult games on the horizon.
Bayern Munich:
Manuel Neuer (5), Josip Stanisic (5), Min-Jae Kim (5), Dayot Upamecano (5), Raphaël Guerreiro (4), Joshua Kimmich (5), Leon Goretzka (5), Michael Olise (6), Jamal Musiala (6), Serge Gnabry (6), Harry Kane (-)
Others: Kingsley Coman (5), Alphonso Davies (6), Leroy Sané (5), Thomas Müller (-)
GGFN | Jack Meenan
