LONDON: Bayern Munich look set to survive the new Champions League playoffs round. AC Milan joined Atalanta and Monaco losing their first-leg games on Wednesday.
Bayern got high-class strikes from Michael Olise and Harry Kane either side of half-time in a 2-1 first-leg win at Scottish champions Celtic. Daizen Maeda pulled one back for Celtic but the hosts couldn’t find an equaliser despite the late pressure.
“The [Celtic] fans haven’t seen many losses here, especially in Europe, so we appreciate the importance of the game and the victory,” Bayern coach Vincent Kompany said.
Bayern had joined Real Madrid and Manchester City as Champions League title winners in the past five years who surprisingly found themselves in the last 16 playoffs because they finished outside the top eight in the new 36-team single standings format.
The top eight teams in those standings advanced direct to the round-of-16 in March, leaving teams ninth to 24 to compete this month for eight more entries in playoffs over back-to-back midweeks.
Bayern’s hopes of direct qualification essentially ended in a 3-0 defeat to Feyenoord, and the Dutch side hurt another European giant as they defeated Milan 1-0.
Feyenoord’s goal in a rain-soaked win came in the third minute and relied in France goalkeeper Mike Maignan spilling Igor Paixao’s shot into the net. Feyenoord’s Brazilian winger gave Milan new signing Kyle Walker a tough first game in the competition for the seven-time European champions.
“We can turn it around in the second leg. We have to learn from tonight. It’s not just the forwards —all the team needs to contribute to score goals” Walker told Sky Sport.
Benfica won 1-0 at 10-man Monaco with another goal from Vangelis Pavlidis, a delicate chip shot in the 48th. Monaco had Al Musrati sent off four minutes later.
Club Brugge scored with a disputed penalty kick in stoppage time to beat Atalanta 2-1.
LOUD FANS
Celtic fans are famous for being loud and passionate and many Bayern players expressed how excited they were to experience the atmosphere in Glasgow — but they were not intimidated by it.
Bayern are hoping to go all the way to this season’s final, which will be played at their own Allianz Arena in Munich on May 31, and they threatened to run riot at Celtic Park as they dominated the first half.
The Germans and were rewarded before the break when Olise was found by a long pass from Dayot Upamecano and got rid of the defender before curling in an unstoppable effort in the 45th.
Bayern’s second goal came just four minutes after half-time, with the unmarked Kane scoring with a cushioned finish at the back post following a corner.
It was Kane’s seventh goal in this season’s Champions League, and his 29th in 29 games in all competitions.
However, the Bundesliga leaders took their foot off the pedal after that, allowing Celtic — who had a first-minute Nicolas Kuehn goal disallowed for offside — to come back into the game.
The Celtic Park erupted in cheers when Maeda beat goalkeeper Manuel Neuer from close range following a corner in the 79th to throw the hosts a lifeline. But their late pressure — on the pitch and from the stands — didn’t result in an equaliser.
Celtic’s first home defeat since December 2023 leaves them facing a huge task to try to turn the tie around in Germany next Tuesday, with the winners going through to face either Bayer Leverkusen or Atletico Madrid in the last 16.
“At 2-1, Bayern are hanging on,” Celtic coach Brendan Rodgers said. “Let’s go and have no regrets and see where it takes us. We’ve shown we can play football and be a threat.”
ATALANTA ANGER
A late light-touch clash between two Sweden team-mates was decisive in Brugge’s win over Atalanta at the Jan Breydel Stadium.
Entering stoppage time, Atalanta defender Isak Hien was judged to have raised a hand into the face of Brugge forward Gustaf Nilsson as they chased a loose ball.
Turkish referee Umut Meler awarded a penalty and showed yellow cards to three Atalanta players, including Hien, for protesting before Nilsson won the game. He sent goalkeeper Rui Patricio the wrong way with his spot kick.
“I’ve only just seen the footage and I reckon that if you ask 100 people if that was a penalty all 100 would say no. It’s very strange,” complained Atalanta’s Charles De Ketelaere.
The contact appeared to be accidental and not serious, but the referee stuck by his decision.
“We are now going in a direction outside of what football should be,” Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini told broadcaster Sky Italia of the penalty decision, “but beyond the controversy we now have to accept these rules that I no longer recognise.”
Brugge, who scraped the final spot in the play-offs by finishing in 24th place, had taken the lead through former Barcelona forward Ferran Jutgla’s shot in the 15th minute, but Mario Pasalic headed in an equaliser for the visitors before the break.
Whoever wins the tie will face Aston Villa or Lille next.
ANOTHER VICTIM
After stunning Bayern with a win and holding Manchester City to a 3-3 draw in the league phase, Feyernoord shook off the sacking of coach Brian Priske on Monday to beat Milan in Rotterdam and gain the upper hand to take to San Siro for the return.
Goalkeeper Timon Wellenreuther had just made a save to deny the Italians the opener at De Kuip and Paixao gave Feyenoord the advantage, cutting in from the left and seeing his speculative low drive ricochet off Maignan and into the net.
Paixao hit the woodwork in the 37th, missing the chance of a brace, but Feyenoord held on to their narrow lead.
Wellenreuther was hit twice in the head while challenging for the ball during the first half, but managed to stay on for the whole game and his heroics were also crucial for the victory.
“These evenings are why we do this,” said Feyenoord captain Quinten Timber. “De Kuip was on it again. We were on it. On to next week,” he added, with Inter Milan or Arsenal awaiting the winner in the next round.
HOT STREAK
Benfica had won 3-2 in Monaco in the league phase in November and they came out on top again at the Stade Louis II thanks to a Pavlidis’ strike just after half-time.
The Greece forward might be the most in-form striker in the Champions League. It is now six goals in the competition and five in the past three games including a hat trick against Barcelona.
The 26-year-old latched onto a pass from the halfway line and shrugged off defender Mohammed Salisu before neatly clipping the ball over goalkeeper Radoslaw Majecki.
It didn’t get easier for Monaco as Libyan midfielder Al Musrati was sent off in the 52nd, when the recent signing from Besiktas gestured to the referee calling for a yellow card after his teammate Breel Embolo had been fouled, only to be handed a second caution himself.
Benfica will hope to finish off the tie in next week’s return, with the winners facing either Liverpool or Barcelona in the last 16.
Published in Dawn, February 14th, 2025
