Alphonso Davies scored the equalizer. © APA/afp / ALEXANDRA BEIER

Bayern saves itself late, black evening for Italians

FC Bayern Munich trembled their way into the round of 16 of the Champions League. For the Italian teams, however, the evening was extremely bitter: both Milan and Atalanta were eliminated.

18. February 2025

From: Leo/dpa

Coach Vincent Kompany's team could only manage a 1:1 (0:0) draw against Celtic Glasgow in the second leg of the intermediate round. Alphonso Davies scored the decisive equaliser for the German record champions in injury time. Before that, Nicolas Kühn (63') had put Celtic in the lead in front of 75.000 spectators in Munich's Allianz Arena. Bayern had won the first leg against the Scottish champions 2:1.

The Munich team missed out on direct entry into the round of 16 in the reformed league phase of the Champions League. Therefore, they had to take the detour via the intermediate round. Bayern's opponents in the round of XNUMX of the premier class will be either Bundesliga rivals Bayer Leverkusen or the Spanish top club Atlético Madrid. The round of the best XNUMX will be drawn on Friday.

Hernández sees red

Meanwhile, Feyenoord Rotterdam has surprisingly knocked Milan out of the competition. In the second leg of the intermediate round, the Italians, who were favourites but also outnumbered for a long time, could only manage a 1:1 (1:0) draw at home. Feyenoord had won the first leg 1:0.

The tragic figure: Théo Hernández © APA/afp / PIERO CRUCIATTI

Milan got off to a perfect start. After just 37 seconds, Santiago Giménez, who moved to Milan from Rotterdam in the winter, scored the 1-0 goal after a pass from Thiaw. After the break, Théo Hernández did the home team a disservice: the defender was shown a second yellow card for diving (51'). With a numerical advantage, Feyenoord took control and equalized with a header from Julián Carranza (73'). That was enough for the Dutch to advance. After the final whistle, Rotterdam's Givairo Read clashed with Milan players and was shown a red card.

Atalanta also out

Atalanta had to swallow a bitter pill. The Bergamasques lost 1:3 at home to FC Bruges despite having more chances. Ademola Lookman & Co. had lost the first leg 1:2. Chemsdine Talbi put the Belgians on the road to victory with a brace in the 3rd and 27th minutes. Ferran Jutgla scored the 3:0 before half-time (45+3.).

Ademola Lookman missed a penalty. © APA/afp / ISABELLA BONOTTO

There was a brief glimmer of hope after Lookman made it 1-3 in the 46th minute, but this was nipped in the bud when the Nigerian missed a penalty in the 61st minute. Rafael Toloi was shown the red card in the closing stages. In the fourth game of the evening, Benfica Lisbon secured their place in the group thanks to a 3-3 draw with Monaco.

Champions League:

Benfica Lisbon – AS Monaco 3:3
Goals: 1:0 Aktürkoglu (22nd), 1:1 Minamino (32nd), 1:2 Ben Seghir (51st), 2:2 penalty Pavlidis (76th), 2:3 Ilenikhena (81st), 3:3 Kökcü (84th)
First leg: 1:0

Atalanta – FC Bruges 1:3
Goals: 0:1 Talbi (3rd), 0:2 Talbi (27th), 0:3 Jutgla (45+3rd), 1:3 Lookman (46th)
First leg: 1:2

Bayern Munich – Celtic Glasgow 1:1
Goals: 0:1 Kühn (63.), 1:1 Davies (90+4.)
First leg: 2:1

Milan – Feyenoord Rotterdam 1:1
Goals: 1:0 Gimenez (1st), 1:1 Carranza (73rd)
First leg: 0:1