Bayern Munich come out on top over Celtic after a hard fought battle in Glasgow and cement their place in the next round of the UEFA Champions League.
Jupp Heynckes continues his perfect winning-streak, but the match was far from comfortable. Bayern Munich made fairly straight-forward work of Celtic in the reverse fixture earlier this month, but the roles were almost reversed in Glasgow. The home side surely made the Bayern squad sweat.
We knew that Bayern Munich would be without several key figures, but that can’t be the go-to excuse when the Bavarians look suspect. Giving credit where it’s due, Celtic gave an absolutely inspired performance. From kick-off, the Scottish champions pressed their visitors intensely.
Intensity from the beginning
Celtic Park has a renowned reputation for being one of the most glorious atmospheres in the sport. As expected, Celtic certainly played with much more confidence in front of their fans. With a fairly rotated midfield, Bayern Munich were constantly made uncomfortable. Celtic know that Bayern tend to become more emboldened as they build momentum through their possession, and built their gameplan around this.
Celtic made aggressive work of disrupting the central-midfield. This was done through forcing errors by pressing and pouncing on any Bayern man that lingered in possession. Bayern’s defense were then made to work much more than expected.
Rafinha’s right-flank was often exploited due to this. The Brazilian has not had a strong season, in several cases looking the weak link in Bayern’s back-line. A cross early in the match floated right past Rafinha, leaving Ulreich exposed, but Bayern were miraculously spared of conceding thanks to a poor first-touch.
The visiting side broke the deadlock just over 20 minutes in, and in the unlikeliest of ways. Sven Ulreich — of all people — provided an assist for Kingsley Coman’s breakthrough goal. Ulreich launched a great long-ball for Coman to control, baffling the entire Celtic defense. The Frenchman cut past the oncoming Craig Gordon and coolly slid the ball into the bottom right corner.
No breathing room in the second half either
Celtic’s pressure refused to let up even in the last 45. Bayern Munich did themselves no favors as their midfield’s passing remained sluggish and sloppy throughout. James seemed to have no clear position, which under normal circumstances means he’s being creative. However, in this case James Rodriguez drifted all over the pitch frustrated due to a serious lack of space with which to work.
On the right side, Arjen Robben was similarly kept quiet. The home side’s back-line were staunch and gave the Dutchman little to no room to exploit. Meanwhile, Javi Martinez and Corentin Tolisso were pressed off the ball in the middle, causing some occasional dangerous turnovers.
With Robert Lewandowski being rested due to fatigue from the past weekend’s match, the offensive presence was largely timid. By Bayern Munich standards, it was generally unproductive up top. Without a constant goal-scoring threat to hold up the ball and receive passes, the match often came down to non-lethal passing around the penalty area until Celtic cleared the ball or started a counter-attack.
The pressure eventually paid off for the Scottish champions. 73 minutes into the match, James Forrest played a perfect pass to Callum McGregor, easily out-witting Bayern’s Rafinha. Sven Ulreich was left helpless as McGregor fired the ball straight between his legs.
David Alaba and Javi Martinez the saviors
In all fairness, it’s no less what the home side deserved. Celtic fought tenaciously throughout, and were rewarded for their efforts. Bayern Munich’s frailties were clearly exposed, and the visitors suddenly found themselves desperate for three points. Thankfully, three minutes later, Bayern responded with the winner. An excellent play between Kingsley Coman and David Alaba led to a well-placed cross to a rising Javi Martinez who headed home, making it 2-1.
Martinez put himself on the line for that goal, picking up a gruesome cut in the collision with Celtic defender Nir Bitton. After a hefty 6 minutes of added time, Bayern managed to come out of Glasgow with three points and a secured spot in the Champions League last-16.
Next: Bayern Munich hint at signing a backup to Lewandowski in January
The most important thing is the result, as always. However, with Lewandowski’s absence clearly felt, the Bayern executives need to respond in January. It’s easy to forget, with so many impressive showings for so long, that Lewandowski is one man. And one man cannot play every minute of every game without rest. Bayern Munich will need their strongest and most focused XI for Der Klassiker against Borussia Dortmund this weekend. The Pole should be back for that match, and die Roten should be all the better for it.