뉴스
Bayern edge out Celtic on aggregate to earn ticket to round of 16
Bayern edge out Celtic on aggregate to earn ticket to round of 16
botv
2025-02-19 11:39

Bayern Munich drew 1-1 with Celtic in the second leg of the Champions League knockout stage playoffs on Tuesday, reaching the round of 16 with a 3-2 aggregate score.

Tuesday’s fixture at Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany was a Champions league Korean derby, with Bayern defender Kim Min-jae facing Celtic midfielder Yang Hyun-jun.

Yang, who recorded his first assist in the Champions League against Bayern last week, came on in the 69th minute for Nicolas-Gerrit Kuhn, who had opened the scoring six minutes prior.

Kim was the last line of defense before Kuhn latched onto a pass and fired off a shot, but his attempt to clear the ball with a tackle failed, instead letting the ball slip to the Celtic winger.

A much-needed equalizer did not come for Bayern in 90 minutes, but Alphonso Davies delivered in stoppage time, heading in a rebound in the penalty box to end Celtic's hope of pushing the match to penalties.

With the draw, Bayern sealed their place in the round of 16 of the revamped Champions League, while Celtic are out of the tournament.

Under the new format, the teams that finish ninth to 24th in the 36-team league phase advance to the playoffs to determine who joins the top eight teams in the round of 16. The losing sides exit the tournament.

Kim is one of only two Korean players to have reached the round of 16 this season alongside Feyenoord midfielder Hwang In-beom as of press time Wednesday.

Feyenoord sealed their place in the knockout stage with a 2-1 aggregate win over AC Milan also on Tuesday, although Hwang was absent from that match due to an unspecified injury.

Both Kim and Hwang have played key roles in their positions on the two clubs’ road to the round of 16. Kim has played eight of 10 Champions League matches this season during which he even picked up a goal against Paris Saint-Germain on Nov. 26 last year.

Hwang has made seven appearances in 10 games, missing three matches due to injury.

Fellow Korean midfielder Lee Kang-in could also join the pair in the round of 16, if PSG beat Brest in the second leg of the playoffs later on Wednesday. PSG head into Wednesday’s fixture on the back of a 3-0 win in the first leg.

Two other countrymen Seol Young-woo of Red Star Belgrade and Kim Min-su of Girona were in Champions League action this season for the first time in their careers, but both teams finished below 24th on the league table and ended their runs.

The round of 16 kicks off from March 4, with quarterfinals starting on April 8 and semifinals scheduled in late April through early May.

The competition will culminate in the final at Bayern’s home ground Allianz Arena on May 31, which marks the first time the club has hosted the final since the 2011-12 season, when Bayern themselves played and lost to Chelsea.