Champions League: Bayern edge past Celtic, Feyenoord defeat Milan in play-off first leg
- Posted: February 13, 2025
- Updated: 10:02 am
Glasgow, Feb 13 : FC Bayern beat Celtic 2-1 on Thursday (IST) to take a lead back to Munich for next Tuesday's Champions League play-off second leg.
Michael Olise handed Bayern the lead late in the first half. Harry Kane's ferocious second-half volley ' which made him the first English player to score 60 times in UEFA club competitions ' gave Bayern a lead to take into next week's return game after a 2-1 win.
The Reds had their advantage halved again after Daizen Maeda pulled one back for the home side with 10 minutes to go but sealed a deserved victory.
"It's a win but it's only half-time. Usually, Celtic loses very few home games in European competitions. So it's a good, satisfying win we're happy to take on board. We're strong at home too and are looking forward to next Tuesday.
"The first moment in the game was far from ideal, but we defended with great discipline, even in difficult moments towards the end when they added another striker.
"We remained solid until the end and, yes, we deserved to win. But we win a lot of games and we want this to keep happening," said Bayern coach Vincent Kompany.
Elsewhere, Feyenoord claimed a narrow 1-0 first-leg victory following an impressive display against seven-time winners Milan. The Eredivisie side were ahead just three minutes in when Mike Maignan was unable to hold Igor Paixao's crisp shot after the winger had cut inside from the left flank.
The lively Brazilian midfielder was at the heart of Feyenoord's attacking play, hitting the bar with a curling effort ten minutes before half-time and going close midway through the second period with an audacious long-range strike.
Meanwhile, Vangelis Pavlidis scored his sixth goal in five Champions League matches as Benfica beat ten-man Monaco 1-0.
The game burst into life shortly after the interval when Pavlidis outran Mohammed Salisu and chipped the ball over Monaco goalkeeper Rados??aw Majecki from a narrow angle.
The hosts were reduced to ten players in the 52nd minute when Al Musrati received a second yellow card, but the visitors were unable to capitalise on their numerical advantage and add to their lead.
/IANS
