Alphonso Davies rescues Bayern Munich but defensive worries show against excellent Celtic | OneFootball

Bayern Munich qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League thanks to a 3-2 aggregate win over Celtic. But they made it through by the skin of their teeth.

Vincent Kompany’s side went into the second leg of their knockout phase play-off against Celtic at the Allianz Arena with a 2-1 advantage. They were favourites for the tie, unbeaten in their past 20 home league games in the Champions League. Celtic also hadn’t won any of their previous 15 away games against German opposition in Europe, losing 12.

But Celtic took the lead on the night through former Bayern Munich striker Nicolas Kuhn. And we should have seen it coming.

Bayern Munich have been an interesting team to watch this season in the Champions League. They finished 12th in the group stage, just one point outside the automatic last 16 spots. But they did have to climb to that position after a slow start to the campaign.

And they’ve been their own worst enemy at times. Kompany’s side have faced just 76 shots in the Champions League this season, the third-fewest of any team in the competition. But they’ve also made 13 errors leading to shots.

No team has made more errors leading to shots in the Champions League this season than Bayern. They sit one ahead of Red Star Belgrade and Monaco in that regard. Against Celtic, they made four errors leading to shots. And two of their players made an error leading to the Bhoys’ goal.

Josip Stanisic was the first, giving possession away in his own half. Kim Min-jae was then adjudged to have made an error as he missed an attempted sliding block on Kuhn’s shot which beat Manuel Neuer.

And with 17.11% of their shots coming from their own errors, Bayern have another unwanted high. Monaco (10%) are the only other side to see double figures in the percentage of total shots faced coming from errors.

It was the second time Bayern had made two errors leading to a goal in a single Champions League game this season. They also achieved the unwanted feat in their group stage defeat to Feyenoord. In fact, only three teams (all on six) have made more errors leading to goals in the Champions League this season than Bayern’s five.

Bayern’s defensive woes were made worse by how well Brendan Rodgers had set up his team in contrast. Celtic were fighting for every ball, looking to frustrate Bayern in any way they could. And they were brilliant at it.

As a collective, Celtic made 22 tackles across the 90 minutes, with six of those made by Jeffrey Schlupp. The Ghanaian international also made five interceptions and nine clearances, both match-highs. He was joined on nine clearances by Cameron Carter-Vickers, while Auston Trusty made eight and Alistair Johnston seven.

But Celtic also knew when to slow down play with fouls. Eight of Celtic’s 13 players to feature on the night made at least one foul, with Johnston committing two. Unfortunately, they couldn’t hold onto the lead, but there was a bit of luck for Bayern.

Just when it looked like we’d be getting 30 more minutes of Celtic’s defensive show, Alphonso Davies bundled the ball over the line deep into second-half injury time. It came after a good save from Kasper Schmeichel, one of eight stops he had made on the night. But he couldn’t parry it away, and Davies won the battle at the far post.

Bayern are through, and will face one of Bayer Leverkusen or Atletico Madrid in the last 16. But if they are to harbour any serious hopes of winning the Champions League, they need to stop shooting themselves in their own feet.