Bayern Munich vs Celtic LIVE: Champions League result and reaction as Davies’ late goal brings heartbreak for Hoops
Bayern Munich 1-1 Celtic (3-2 agg): Davies came off the bench to secure a place in the next round
Celtic missed out on a place in the Champions League last-16 despite a spirited and superb outing away from home against Bayern Munich.
The hosts led 2-1 after the first leg in Scotland but looked off the pace in a disjointed first half where they barely threatened Celtic’s goal and went into the break as the second best team.
Brendan Rodgers’ side had created plenty of decent chances but it was former Bayern man Nicolas Kuhn who sent the visitors ahead and looked like forcing the match to extra time.
With the Hoops now level on aggregate, Bayern piled on the pressure in the last 20 minutes and it was a substitute, Alphonso Davies, who provided the difference. With the last kick of the game, Davies arrived at the back post and turned home a rebound from Kasper Schmeichel after the goalkeeper kept out a headed effort from Leon Goretzka.
It was an incredible end to a fine match but Bayern Munich are the ones to progress.
Relive the updates from the Champions League with our live blog below:
Pre-match thoughts from Bayern coach Vincent Kompany
At his pre-match press conference yesterday the Bayern boss said: "Celtic have done really well so far in the Champions League.
“They can always be a threat. But we won at Celtic Park and earned a point in Leverkusen.
“When results are good, that gives you extra strength, and that should help us tomorrow."
Musiala on draw with Leverkusen
Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen played out a 0-0 draw in the Bundesliga at the weekend in what was a clash at the top of the table.
Despite not winning the crucial match, Jamal Musiala says Bayern took lessons from the game.
He said: "We've had a lot of possession this season so we hadn't had something like against Leverkusen, where we needed to defend a lot.
“It was a good experience. You need to do something like that at some point, and we can learn from it. And we can take it into the games to come.
“We didn't have our best day, but we still didn't lose. That's a good sign for the team."
'It won't be an easy game'
"It won't be an easy game,” said Bayern midfielder Jamal Musiala ahead of the match.
“We saw how it was in Glasgow. We need to prepare well, need to make sure we're fresh and mentally ready.
“We need to be 100% on it, start well and don't let up, and then hope we can win."
Rodgers on facing Bayern Munich
“It is a challenge at this level. But it’s something that we want to embrace, that challenge,” Brendan Rodgers said about tonight’s second leg.
“We’ve done very well to get to this point. When you get to this point, you want to play top-level teams. This is a team that has world-class players.
“I think it’s just spelling out that you come to this level and you have to play without any fear.
“I think there’s worse things in life that can happen than losing a game of football. So for us, we want to ensure that when we come in after the game, if we don’t go through, we’ve given it absolutely everything.”
Brendan Rodgers wants Celtic to ‘play without fear’ against Bayern Munich
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has urged his team to play without fear and have no regrets against Bayern Munich.
Rodgers’ side have travelled to Germany 2-1 down in the Champions League knockout phase play-off but Daizen Maeda’s late goal at Parkhead has given the Hoops fans a glimmer of hope.
Celtic are in the knockout rounds for the first time in 12 years and Rodgers feels the pressure is off ahead of their second leg at the Allianz Arena.
Brendan Rodgers wants Celtic to ‘play without fear’ against Bayern Munich
When are the next rounds played?
The last-16 ties will be played across the weeks of 4/5 and 11/12 March.
The round after that is the quarter-finals, which are played in April, with the semi-finals taking place in late April and early May.
This season, the final will be held on 31 May 2025, at Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena.
The full dates for the next round are as follows:
Round of 16: 4/5 & 11/12 March 2025
Quarter-finals: 8/9 & 15/16 April 2025
Semi-finals: 29/30 April & 6/7 May 2025
Final: 31 May 2025
Who else could be in the draw?
There will obviously be another eight sides in the draw for the round of 16, and these will be the eight sides who are victorious in the knockout round play-off ties.
The second legs of those ties happen this week, with the first four taking place today.
Here are the scores across those eight matches going into the second leg:
AC Milan 0-1 Feyenoord
Benfica 1-0 Monaco
Atalanta 1-2 Club Brugge
Bayern Munich 2-1 Celtic
Dortmund 3-0 Sporting CP
Real Madrid 3-2 Man City
PSG 3-0 Brest
PSV 1-2 Juventus
Which teams are definitely in the draw?
The teams who finished in the top eight of the competition's new league phase table automatically qualified for the last 16.
The eight teams who have already qualified are Liverpool, FC Barcelona, Arsenal, Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Lille and Aston Villa.
According to the new rules, these sides were all placed into seeded pairs ahead of the round of 16, and will all play the second legs of their ties at home.
The seeded pairs consisted of the teams in first and second, third and fourth, fifth and sixth and seventh and eighth – for example, Liverpool and Barcelona are one seeded pair, and so on.
The seeding is also relevant for the last 16 as it determines which of two opponents the club will be drawn against.
For example, the first seeds will face the winners of the knockout phase play-off ties involving the 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th-placed teams.
To that end, Liverpool and Barcelona will face the two winners of the matches involving PSG, Benfica, Monaco and Brest – what the draw does is simply decide exactly which of the two teams faces who.
When is the draw for the Champions League last 16 and how can I watch it?
The draw for the next rounds of the Champions League takes place at 12pm CET (11am GMT) on Friday, 21 February at the House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland.
The draw will be streamed live on Uefa’s website. You can also follow dedicated coverage on The Independent’s live blog on the day.
When is the Champions League last-16 draw? Date, start time and how to watch
The draw for the last 16 of the Champions League will take place at Uefa headquarters this Friday, after the conclusion of eight intriguing play-off ties in midweek.
Europe’s most prestigious cup competition sees the end of the inaugural knockout play-off round on Wednesday, with Manchester City looking to overturn a 3-2 deficit away to Real Madrid in the pick of the games.
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