Celtic’s Champions League journey came to an end at the hands of Bayern Munich, as the German giants secured a 1-1 draw at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday night, advancing 3-2 on aggregate. The decisive moment came in the 94th minute, when Alphonso Davies scored a fortunate goal to break Celtic hearts.
The Scottish champions had been unlucky in the first leg, seeing an early goal controversially disallowed for offside before falling to a 2-1 defeat at home. Despite going 2-0 down in that match, Celtic fought back with a goal from Daizen Maeda and pushed Bayern to the limit until the final whistle.
In the second leg, Bayern started strongly, as expected, but Celtic gradually found their footing and missed several golden opportunities to take the lead.
Vincent Kompany’s side struggled to maintain momentum, and their efforts were rewarded in the 63rd minute when Nicolas Kuhn capitalized on defensive errors from Kim Min-jae and Josip Stanisic to put Celtic ahead on the night and level the aggregate score.
The goal sparked a resurgence from Bayern, who began to dominate possession and create chances, though they rarely tested Celtic goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel. However, the German side delivered a cruel blow in stoppage time.
Schmeichel made an initial save, but Davies was in the right place at the right time as a clearance from Cameron Carter-Vickers deflected off the Canadian and into the net from close range.
Celtic’s most recent Champions League knockout tie before this was against Antonio Conte’s Juventus in the 2012/13 season, where they suffered a 5-0 aggregate defeat.
Their last victory in a knockout tie in Europe’s premier competition dates back to the 1988/89 season, when they defeated Budapest Honved in the first round of the European Cup.
Despite the disappointment, Celtic can hold their heads high after a spirited performance against one of Europe’s elite clubs.
