Daizen Maeda struck late for Celtic to give them a lifeline in their Champions League play-off tie against Bayern Munich as they lost 2-1 in the first leg at Parkhead.
Michael Olise and Harry Kane put Bayern in full control of the tie with goals either side of half-time until the Scottish champions clawed their way back with a scrappy goal from Maeda 11 minutes from time at a corner.
Celtic pushed for an equaliser, refusing to settle for just the one goal as Bayern threatened to crumble under the pressure, but the hosts could not find a way through Manuel Neuer in the closing stages.
Olise, the former Crystal Palace winger, had broken Celtic’s stubborn resistance mere seconds before half-time with an unstoppable near-post strike and England captain Kane then volleyed in unmarked at the back post four minutes after the restart.
Michael Olise’s moment of brilliance broke Celtic’s resistance
Harry Kane was unmarked when he doubled Bayern’s lead from a corner
Celtic were disciplined for most of the first half, but their concentration slipped after Olise’s moment of brilliance with an inexplicable error leaving Kane completely free to score his 29th goal of the season for club and country.
Referee Jesus Gil Manzano was sent to his monitor for a potential penalty check against Bayern when Celtic trailed by two goals, however replays showed Dayot Upamecano got the ball before stepping on Nicolas Kuhn.
Celtic never gave up though and found a breakthrough at a corner as Maeda headed in from close-range, scoring his fourth Champions League goal of the season to keep his team’s hopes alive ahead of next Tuesday’s second leg in Munich.
Wilson: Celtic have a slim chance!
Former Celtic defender Mark Wilson 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 and 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.”
The story of the match in stats
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