Kane lifts Bayern to beat Celtic in Champions League playoffs. Milan, Atalanta and Monaco all lose

By Canadian Press on February 12, 2025.

Bayern Munich looks set to survive the new Champions League playoffs round. AC Milan joined Atalanta and Monaco losing their first-leg games Wednesday.

Bayern got high-class strikes from Michael Olise and Harry Kane either side of halftime in a 2-1 win at Celtic. The return game is Tuesday in Munich.

Bayern had joined Real Madrid and Manchester City as Champions League title winners in the past five years who surprisingly found themselves in the playoffs because they finished outside the top eight in the new 36-team single standings format. Madrid won 3-2 in Manchester on Tuesday.

Feyenoord’s goal in a rain-soaked 1-0 win over Milan came in the third minute and relied in France goalkeeper Mike Maignan spilling Igor Paixão’s shot into the net.

It was a quick winning start for Feyenoord’s interim coach Pascal Bosschaart in his first game after the firing Monday of Brian Priske.

Benfica won 1-0 at Monaco with another goal from Vangélis Pavlídis, a delicate chip shot in the 48th. The in-form Greece forward’s sixth goal in the competition followed a hat trick against Barcelona last month.

Club Brugge scored with a disputed penalty kick in stoppage time to beat Atalanta 2-1. That was a meeting of teams that finished 24th and ninth, respectively, in the 36-team standings two weeks ago.

The top eight teams in those standings advanced direct to the round of 16 in March, leaving Nos. 9 to 24 to compete in February for eight more entries in playoffs over back-to-back midweeks.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Graham Dunbar, The Associated Press

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