Daizen Maeda’s late strike handed Celtic a lifeline in their Champions League play-off against Bayern Munich, as they fell 2-1 in the first leg at Parkhead.
Bayern looked firmly in control after goals from Michael Olise and Harry Kane, but the Scottish champions clawed back into the tie when Maeda scrambled home from a corner with 11 minutes left on the clock.
Celtic pushed hard for an equalizer in the closing stages, while Bayern teetered on the brink of collapse.
However, Manuel Neuer stood tall between the posts, preserving the Bundesliga side’s slender lead and bringing an end to Celtic’s 32-match unbeaten home run, which had lasted since December 2023.
Former Crystal Palace winger Olise had broken the deadlock with a clinical near-post finish on the stroke of halftime.
Minutes into the second half, England captain Harry Kane volleyed home unmarked at the back post, notching his 29th goal of the season for club and country.
Celtic’s disciplined first-half performance unraveled following Olise’s brilliant strike, and a defensive lapse allowed Kane to double Bayern’s lead.
There was a brief moment of controversy when referee Jesus Gil Manzano went to the pitchside monitor to review a potential penalty for Celtic.
However, replays confirmed Bayern defender Dayot Upamecano made contact with the ball before stepping on Nicolas Kuhn’s foot, and the decision was overturned.
The hosts never gave up, though, and were rewarded when Maeda headed home from close range for his fourth Champions League goal of the season, offering Celtic a glimmer of hope ahead of the second leg in Munich next Tuesday.
Despite the defeat, Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers expressed optimism about their chances in the second leg, speaking to TNT Sports, “The last 25 minutes, we started to press the game, we were more active at the top end of the pitch, and you see what it brought—aggression. Our football starts to come alive, and then we get the goal.
“At 2-1, Bayern Munich are hanging on. That’s what we can take from it. We’ve got one more shot.
“It’s a new level for a lot of the players, they’ve done absolutely great. Let’s go and have no regrets and see where it takes us.
“We’ve shown we can play football and be a threat. We’re still right in the tie. With their quality and the number of goals they can score, sometimes these can be out of sight, but that wasn’t the case at all.”*
Bayern Munich forward Harry Kane spoke about the importance of resilience during their hard-fought victory at Celtic Park, “Whenever you win a game like this, you’re always pleased because it’s not an easy place to come.
“There were definitely areas in the game in which we could have done better, and we’ll need to improve for next week, but overall we scored at the right times.
“They put us under pressure at the end, and we had to stay strong, which we did.
“We knew the atmosphere would help them at the start of the game, and they nearly scored after a minute. We had to be patient; we knew we’d have more of the ball. Sometimes you need a bit of special quality to open a game like this up.”
Bayern manager Vincent Kompany refused to get carried away with the result, stressing the importance of staying focused for the return leg.
Former Celtic defender Mark Wilson gave his thoughts on their chances in Munich, speaking on Soccer Special, “Celtic have a very slim chance of getting through!
“They need to do what they don’t do very often and win away from home in Europe, especially at the Allianz Arena—it’s going to be incredibly difficult.
“Maeda’s goal gives them a slim bit of hope going into the game. It’s obviously better than the way it was going on the hour mark, because Bayern were just a quality above Celtic for that full period.”
For the final 10 minutes at Celtic Park, anything seemed possible as the home crowd roared their team on. Bayern Munich wobbled, but Celtic couldn’t land another decisive blow before the final whistle.
This performance showed how far Celtic have come in Europe. Since their 7-1 humiliation at Borussia Dortmund, they have steadily improved, with Rodgers finding the right balance against a top-class Bayern side.
Maeda’s goal keeps the tie alive, but history is not on Celtic’s side. They are yet to win in the Champions League away from home this season, suffering a heavy defeat at Dortmund, losing to Aston Villa, and drawing with Dinamo Zagreb and Atalanta.
To pull off an upset and knock Bayern out, Celtic will need to break that streak and deliver something truly special at the Allianz Arena.
