NEW DELHI: In the first leg of their Champions League playoff, Bayern Munich defeated Celtic 2-1 in Glasgow on Wednesday, with goals from Harry Kane and victories for Benfica, Feyenoord, and Club Brugge.
On May 31, in their home Allianz Arena in Munich, Bayern hopes to advance all the way to the season’s final.
They controlled the first half and seized the lead shortly before halftime thanks to an incredible Michael Olise goal, threatening to run wild against the Scottish champions at Celtic Park.
Four minutes after halftime, the unmarked Kane scored Bayern’s second goal after a corner with a cushioned finish at the back post.
Kane’s goal was his 29th in 29 games across all competitions and his eighth in the Champions League this season.
But after that, the Bundesliga leaders slowed down, which gave Celtic the opportunity to rally after Nicolas Kuehn’s goal in the opening minute was disallowed for offside.
With eleven minutes remaining, Daizen Maeda scored after a corner, giving Brendan Rodgers’ squad a one-goal, but they were unable to equalize.
“It’s cliché to say, but it’s the first half of the game. Overall, it’s a really great result,” said Bayern coach Vincent Kompany, according to the BBC.
After suffering their first home loss since December 2023, Celtic will have a difficult time trying to win the match in Germany on Tuesday. The winner will advance to play either Bayer Leverkusen or Atletico Madrid in the round of 16.
“It’s only a one goal difference. It’s a big challenge, we know that but it’s still a possibility,” insisted Rodgers.
Benfica defeated Monaco 1-0 on the road, with Vangelis Pavlidis scoring the lone goal. The home team had to play a large portion of the second half with just ten men.
Just after halftime, a goal by Pavlidis gave Benfica the victory at the Stade Louis II. In November, Benfica had triumphed 3-2 at Monaco during the league phase.
In his team’s last five Champions League games, including a hat-trick in the thrilling 5-4 loss to Barcelona last month, the Greek international scored his sixth goal.
Moatasem Al-Musrati, a recent Besiktas transfer, was sent off for Monaco in the 52nd minute when he gestured to the referee to request for a yellow card after his teammate Breel Embolo had been fouled. However, he received a second caution himself.
Benfica will try to complete the match when they return the following week. The victors will play either Liverpool or Barcelona in the round of 16.
Feyenoord defeated seven-time European champions AC Milan 1-0 in Rotterdam on Monday, overcoming the dismissal of coach Brian Priske and gaining the advantage to travel to San Siro for the return.
Milan goalie Mike Maignan gave the Dutch a hand with a clanger as Igor Paixao’s speculative third-minute shot bounced off his body and into the net.
In a game played at De Kuip in pouring rain, that was the lone goal scored.
“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.
Earlier, a contentious stoppage-time penalty helped Club Brugge defeat Atalanta, the Europa League winners from the previous season, 2-1 in Belgium.
Atalanta was penalized for careless play at the back when Ferran Jutgla gave the Belgian team the lead in the fifteenth minute. However, Mario Pasalic headed in an equalizer for the visitors just before halftime.
That appeared to be the case until the hosts were given a penalty at the end when Atalanta defender Isak Hien’s outstretched arm caught replacement Gustaf Nilsson in the face, causing him to go down.
After examining the footage, the referee upheld his assessment that the touch was unintentional and not significant, and Swedish forward Nilsson scored the penalty.
“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 winner of that match will next play either Lille or Aston Villa.