1-1 draw at the Allianz 

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It took until the final kick of the game for Bayern Munich to see off Scottish giants Celtic in the  Champions League playoffs. And the man to the rescue was the very same Alphonso Davies, who has put pen to paper to a new long-term contract just a couple of weeks ago. The late goal by the Canadian men’s national team star equalized a 1-0 Celtic lead scored by former Bayern Munich product Nicolas Kühn (63’). It was also Davies’ first game back after suffering a torn muscle fibre injury in late January. 

Although the 1-1 result is enough to see Bayern Munich advance to the round of 16, questions will be asked about the performance of Vincent Kompany’s team. Although Bayern Munich led the match with 23 to 5 shots and an xG of 2.33 to 1.12, Celtic were on the brink of a gigantic upset. Indeed, when Kühn scored, it did feel more than deserved as Bayern’s backline struggled to contain Celtic’s fast attackers. 

On the other end of the pitch, Davies’ Canadian teammate  Alistair Johnston was the best player. Johnston won 100% of his tackles on Tuesday night and helped contain a Bayern attack that, despite dominating possession, struggled for clear-cut chances. Johnston was aided in the middle of the park by US men’s national team center-backs  Auston Trusty and Cameron Carter-Vickers. Both played an almost perfect game until that final moment when Davies broke the deadlock for Bayern. 

Celtic out – What happens next for Bayern Munich?

Despite two excellent performances against Bayern Munich both at home and on the road at the Allianz Arena, the result will be a disappointment for Celtic. Until the final second, the Glasgow club thought they had Bayern on the brink of extra time. How big of a performance was it by Celtic? Just consider this. At the same time, Bayern Munich have the fourth highest squad value among clubs involved in this stage of the competition, Celtic rank second to the bottom only ahead of Stade Brest (overview).

Indeed, the performance will raise some questions within Germany, especially after Bayern Munich disappointed in the Topspiel against Bayer Leverkusen last Saturday and also showed significant weaknesses against Celtic in the return leg. In the match against Leverkusen, Bayern barely managed to hang on to a 0-0 draw. Although that might be enough to secure the Bundesliga title, the feeling in Germany remains that Leverkusen are the better-managed team. That feeling will be further underlined by the 180 minutes against Celtic in which Bayern barely escaped only thanks to Canadian star Davies. The upside, at least, he is signed to a new long-term contract.