Bayern's Davies strikes at the death to oust Celtic | OneFootball

Bayern Munich edge past Celtic to reach UEFA Champions League round of 16

Bayern Munich made hard work of their play-off against Celtic to reach the UEFA Champions League last 16 but the Bundesliga side will nonetheless be delighted to be in the hat for Friday's draw after Alphonso Davies's injury-time strike cancelled out Nicolas Kühn's earlier opener for the heartbroken visitors.

Bayern Munich 1-1 Celtic (agg: 3-2)Goals: 0-1 Kühn 63', 1-1 Davies 90'+4

Goals from Harry Kane and Michael Olise had given the Bundesliga leaders a healthy 2-1 lead going into their second-leg against the Scottish champions. Both players were soon involved in the return as Vincent Kompany’s side looked to quickly kill off the tie on front of a packed Allianz Arena. Serge Gnabry was denied on the line with a header at the back post from Olise's centre while Kasper Schmeichel was alert to keep Kane at bay soon afterwards. Visiting coach Brendan Rodgers said that anything was possible for his team in Munich in the build-up to this game, and the Bhoys soon responded by creating several decent chances in quick succession. Callum McGregor started the sequence when blasting off target after racing through while Josip Stanišić was alert to clear ex-Bayern second-team player Nicolas Kühn’s effort off the line. Daizen Maeda then twice looked to trouble the hosts before Kane sought to lift the pressure at the other end. Schmeichel was equal to the striker’s power-drive, but there was nothing the Celtic custodian could do when Kane’s next effort crashed against the crossbar.

To the away side’s relief, England’s record goalscorer and the Bundesliga’s leading marksman failed to appear for the second half. Yet, Bayern’s attacking ambitions remained intact and they should have hit the front on the night when Leon Goretzka burst through two minutes after the restart, only to be denied at the last by the busy Schmeichel. The miss would prove costly. Having never before beaten Bayern in the teams’ previous five meetings, Celtic stunned the hosts by hitting the front. A collection of errors in the Bayern defence culminated in Kim Min-jae helping Kühn on his way through and the forward swept past Manuel Neuer with glee to level the tie on aggregate. The six-time European champions responded, with Goretzka heading inches wide before substitute Leroy Sané drove narrowly off target. In inspired form, Schmeichel then kept out Kimmich’s deflected drive as extra-time loomed. In one last throw of the dice, Olise lifted a cross into the area and when Schmeichel could only push Goretzka’s header forward, Davies was there to bundle the ball home to the delight of the home fans.

Match stats

Teams

Bayern: Neuer (c) - Stanišić, Upamecano, Kim, Guerreiro (Davies 64') - Kimmich, Goretzka - Olise, Musiala (Müller 90'+5), Gnabry (Sané 64') - Kane (Coman 46')Unused subs: Urbig, Dier, Palhinha, Ito, Boey, Vidović, Laimer, PavlovićOut: Peretz (kidney)Coach: Vincent KompanyCeltic: Schmeichel - Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Trusty, Schlupp - Hatate, McGregor (c), Engels - Kühn (Hyunjun 69'), Jota (Idah 60'), MaedaUnused subs: Sinisalo, Bain, Taylor, Scales, McCowan, Nawrocki, Kenny, Murray, Ralston, BonnarOut: Bernardo (ankle), Forrest (foot)Coach: Brendan Rodgers

As it happened ...

First-leg report

Harry Kane was on target as Bayern recorded a vital 2-1 win in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 play-off away to Celtic.

Celtic 1-2 Bayern MunichGoals: 0-1 Olise 45’ (assist: Upamecano), 0-2 Kane 49’ (assist: Kimmich), 1-2 Maeda 79’ (assist: Yang)

There was an electric start to the action at Celtic Park, as former Bayern man Nicolas Kühn looked to have put the hosts into the lead after only 25 seconds when his low shot from just outside the area founds its way into Manuel Neuer’s bottom corner. The goal was ruled out for offside, though, with Adam Idah adjudged to have interfered with Neuer’s view. Bayern’s first sight of goal came through Michael Olise, who fired straight at Kasper Schmeichel from close range after a one-two with Kane. The balance of play soon tipped in Bayern’s favour after some nervy opening moments, but finding a way through Celtic’s stern defence still proved difficult. Likewise, Celtic showed that they could counter quickly without really testing Neuer. Kane looked as if he was about to put his side into the lead just past the half-hour mark, but could only head straight at Schmeichel with what was an uncharacteristic miss, which he’ll be glad was called offside. Kane’s next close-range header towards the Celtic goal wasn’t called for offside, but instead hit the side netting from a tight angle at the back post. It looked as if the sides would head into the break all square, until Olise cut into the area from the right-hand side before finishing emphatically into Schmeichel’s near top-corner.

Bayern started the second half confidently, with a flurry of corners in the opening minutes resulting in them scoring their second of the game through Kane, who volleyed home from inside the six-yard box at the far post. Celtic thought they might be offered a route back into the game after an extensive VAR review of a challenge from Dayot Upamecano on Arne Engels inside the area. Luckily for Bayern, though, the decision was no penalty. The hosts reacted well to conceding the second goal and did have more possession in Bayern’s defensive third in the following 15 minutes, but couldn’t create a clear-cut chance to get themselves back into the game. Bayern soon regained control, but with a two-goal cushion, didn’t have the same attacking urgency as they had in the previous hour. A lapse in concentration in the Bayern defence almost gave Celtic a route back into the game, but Daizen Maeda could only flash the ball across the face of the goal from a tight angle after rounding Neuer. The hosts’ search for a goal eventually ended when Maeda nodded home from point-blank range, after Vincent Kompany’s side failed to clear from a corner. An uncomfortable end to the game followed for Bayern against both a determined Celtic side and a boisterous home crowd, but they held out for an important away victory ahead of the home leg on 18 February.

Liked the article? Find more articles on the official Bundesliga App.