Bayern Munich vs Celtic. UEFA Champions League Group B.
Allianz ArenaAttendance70,000.
Thursday 19 October 2017 12:29, UK
Jupp Heynckes made it two wins from two games as his Bayern Munich side cruised to a 3-0 victory against Celtic in the Champions League on Wednesday.
After opening his tenure with a 5-0 victory against Freiburg in the Bundesliga on Saturday, Bayern kept another clean sheet at the Allianz Arena as Celtic mustered few chances.
Thomas Muller opened the scoring for the hosts in the 17th minute before a looping Joshua Kimmich goal doubled Bayern's lead. Mats Hummels added a third just after half-time to secure all three points for Bayern.
Bayern's win tightens their hold on second place in Group B with six points on the board - three ahead of Celtic in third - while PSG remain top after beating Anderlecht 4-0 in Brussels.
Celtic were lucky to not be behind inside the opening 10 minutes. Thiago had the ball in the back of the net after six minutes but it was ruled out after Robert Lewandowski was judged to have let the ball run out of play - although it had stayed in - before Bayern were not awarded a clear penalty when Mikael Lustig pulled down Lewandowski in the box.
But Bayern eventually found the breakthrough in the 17th minute. Kimmich's cross was met by the head of Lewandowski at the back post, but his effort was well saved by the Craig Gordon. However, Muller was lurking at the back post to stab home the loose ball, hammering it into the top of the net.
The hosts were further in front 12 minutes later. Kingsley Coman burst away down the left flank and his inviting cross was headed towards goal by Kimmich, looping past Gordon and into the top corner.
It took just six minutes after the restart for the hosts to add their third when Hummels got away from his marker in the box to nod home an Arjen Robben corner.
Bayern could have raced even further into the lead just after the hour mark, but were once again denied. Christian Gamboa stopped Robben from adding a goal to his earlier assist as he blocked his header on the line, before Lewandowski's tap home from a Coman cross was ruled out for offside.
Celtic could have nabbed a goal back in the 86th minute as Scott Sinclair slotted home on the angle after collecting a skewed Moussa Dembele shot, but the linesman's flag was raised for offside to top off a tough night for the Scottish Premiership side.
He may be 33 and a newly-retired international, but Robben can still produce the goods. He was pulling the attacking strings throughout the game and picked up an assist when his corner was headed home by Hummels.
He was also denied on numerous occasions by a Celtic defence who learnt their lessons from that third goal, with his effort in the 61st minute cleared off the line by Gamboa and Gordon denying him on numerous other occasions. His 100th Champions League appearance certainly showed why he remains a regular starter for Bayern Munich.
Bayern are back in Bundesliga action on Saturday as they travel to Hamburg. Celtic are also on the road on Saturday when they play Hibernian at Hampden Park in the Scottish League Cup semi-finals.
