Bayern Munich Once Again Defeats Celtic in UCL
The fifth encounter between Celtic and Bayern Munich in European competitions ended as most of the previous ones, with the Germans securing their fourth victory.
In the opening minute, Celtic thought they had scored, but the goal was disallowed by the referee. The decision was quite controversial as Hyun-jun Yang scored with a long-range shot, but an offside was called on his teammate, who was positioned near the shot line but about three meters away from Manuel Neuer. A questionable offside, to say the least.
Bayern Munich responded with a dangerous shot from Olise in the 13th minute, but Kasper Schmeichel made a solid save, clearing it for a corner.
Before halftime, Olise finally managed to get the better of the Danish goalkeeper. The Frenchman controlled the ball, tricked Taylor, and then fired into the near top corner, giving Bayern Munich the lead.
Right after the break, Bayern Munich doubled their advantage. Harry Kane was left unmarked at the edge of the six-yard box, and after a corner kick, the Englishman volleyed the ball into the net.
There was another controversial moment soon after, as VAR reviewed a potential penalty for Celtic after Dayot Upamecano appeared to step on Abada Engels's foot. After a thorough review, referee decided there was no penalty, as Upamecano had first cleared the ball before the contact occurred.
Despite the setbacks, Celtic started to show signs of life. First, Maeda got past Neuer, but he couldn’t find the far corner. Five minutes later, the Japanese forward found the net. After Yang's shot toward goal, Maeda was perfectly positioned to redirect the ball into the net.
Celtic had one last chance to avoid defeat in the seventh minute of stoppage time, but Neuer pulled off an incredible save, denying Johnston's shot aimed at the near top corner. The final score was 2-1 in favor of Bayern Munich.
2024-25 UEFA Champions League
Celtic - Bayern 1:2 (0:1)
Goals: Olise, 45 (0:1); Kane, 49 (0:2); Maeda, 79 (1:2)
Celtic: Schmeichel; Johnston A.; Carter-Vickers; Trusty; Hatate; Kuehn N-G. (Hyun-jun Yang, 77); McGregor C.; Taylor G. (Schlupp, 65); Engels; Idah (Jota, 65); Maeda
Bench: Bain; Sinisalo; Murray D.; Nawrocki M.; Ralston; Scales; McCowan; Kenny J.
Bayern: Neuer; Guerreiro (Ito H., 78); Dier; Upamecano; Goretzka; Kimmich; Laimer; Olise (Coman, 65); Sane L. (Gnabry, 65); Musiala (Muller, 87); Kane
Bench: Ulreich; Urbig; Boey; Buchmann; Kim Min-jae; Stanisic; Pavlovic Al.; Vidovic