Bayern Munich defeated Celtic 2-1 in the first leg of the European Champions League play-off on Wednesday after Harry Kane's goal streak continued. Benfica, Feyenoord and Club Brugge were also victorious in other matches.
Bayern's goal this time around will be a trip to the final, as the final on May 31st will be at the team's home ground at the Allianz Arena. The game at Celtic Park was completely under Bayern's control, but the victory was narrow.
Right before the first half, Bayern took the lead with a great goal by Mitchell Ollis. Kane easily added a second goal in the fourth minute of the second half. This is Kane's seventh goal in the Champions League. Ken's
The number of goals has reached 29 in 29 games. 11 minutes before the end of the match, Dejan Meda pulled a goal back for Brendan Rodgers' Celtic and it kept the competition exciting. After the
victory, Vincent Kompany, the coach of the team at the top of the German Bundesliga, said, "Only half of the competition is over." It is the first time since December 2023 that Celtic have lost at Celtic Park at their home ground. The second leg will now be played on German soil on Tuesday and they will be looking to overturn their one-goal deficit. Its winner will face either Bayer Leverkusen or Atletico Madrid.
'The difference between victory and defeat is only one goal, it is not easy to turn it around. But we'll try,” Rogers said. Elsewhere, Vangelis Pablidis scored the only goal as Benfica beat Monaco 1-0. Monaco played with 10 players for most of the game. This is the 6th time Greek player Pablidis has scored in the last 5 Champions League games. Last month he scored a hat-trick against Barcelona.
Monaco's Libyan midfielder Matassem Al-Kurati was controversially sent off in the 52nd minute after a double yellow card. If Benfica wins the next leg, they will face either Liverpool or Barcelona. Feyenoord shocked AC Milan 1-0 in the Rotoderm match. A win over the seven-time champions will keep Feyenoord strong contenders for the next round ahead of the match at San Siro.
Earlier, Club Brugge beat last year's Europa League winners Atalanta 2-1. Mario Pasalic equalized for Atalanta after Ferran Zutgla had put Feyenoord ahead. Club Brugge were controversially awarded a penalty with just moments to go. Swedish player Nilsson converted it into a goal. After the game, Atlanta player Charles D. Keteler's response was, "If you ask a thousand people about this moment, not a thousand will decide on a penalty."
