Bayern Munich 1-1 Celtic (3-2 agg): Heartbreak for Celtic After Alphonso Davies’ Last-Gasp Winner

Celtic suffered the most heart-breaking of defeats as Alphonso Davies bundled home a 94th-minute winner to send Bayern Munich into the Champions League round of 16. It had been a night of toiling in front of goal for the German giants, who had been huge favourites to progress after winning the first leg in Glasgow, but ultimately they got the draw that took them through to the knockouts.

They barely deserved to go through, though. Celtic were huge underdogs but created the better chances and came within seconds of taking the game to extra time with what would have been the first-ever win for a Scottish side against Bayern. The game quickly settled into a predictable pattern of Bayern monopolising possession, but it was Celtic who fashioned the better openings. Inside the first 18 minutes, Callum McGregor blazed over when through on goal, Nicolas Kühn had a huge chance cleared off the line by Raphaël Guerreiro, Arne Engels put a ball agonisingly across the face of the Bayern goal, and Daizen Maeda squandered a golden opportunity.

It quickly became apparent that Celtic could be made to regret wasting those early chances. Bayern grew into the game, and Harry Kane very nearly made the visitors pay, beating Kasper Schmeichel in the Celtic goal only to be denied by the woodwork. The warning signs were there, but Celtic continued to press when they could, showing resilience and determination in front of their raucous travelling support. Despite the pressure, Bayern's efficiency in the final third was lacking, with Celtic's defense standing firm.

Celtic were handed a boost when Bayern lost Kane to a knock at half-time, but the German side remained in control of possession. However, they struggled to create many clear openings, and after a break of 45 minutes without a shot, Celtic finally conjured another opportunity, and it was a telling one. Maeda played a ball forward, and after Kim Min-Jae made a horrible mess of what looked like a simple clearance, Kühn was allowed in on goal to give Celtic an unlikely lead on the night.

The stadium erupted as Celtic's travelling fans dared to believe. It was a historic moment, as Kühn became the first German to score against Bayern in the Champions League since Mërgim Berisha for FC Red Bull Salzburg in November 2020, and the first to do so in the knockout stages since Lukas Podolski for Arsenal in March 2014 (last 16). From that point onward, it was almost all Bayern, but they looked disjointed without a focal point up front after Kane’s withdrawal. Most of their shots came from distance and were easily blocked by a committed Celtic rearguard, with Schmeichel making a string of crucial saves to preserve their slender advantage.

At the death, though, Bayern finally broke through. Schmeichel could only parry a Leon Goretzka header from point-blank range, and Davies was quickest to react, bundling the ball into the net to break Celtic hearts. Clocked at 93.12, it was the latest equalising goal in normal time in a Champions League game on record (since 2003-04). The celebrations were muted, as Bayern knew they had stumbled into the knockout stages rather than marched in convincingly.

That was to be the last of the action, meaning Celtic crashed out of Europe, and Bayern scraped through to the knockouts, where they will face either Bayer Leverkusen or Atlético Madrid. For Celtic, the agony of conceding so late will sting for a long time, but their performance will be remembered as one of courage and resilience. The Scottish champions may be out, but they exit the competition with their heads held high, having pushed one of Europe's elite clubs to the very brink.