Bayern Munich's last gasp goal ensured they would progress out of the UEFA Champions League knockout phase playoffs on Tuesday, a day that offered plenty of entertainment as several closely-contested ties came to a dramatic close.
Nicolas-Gerrit Kuhn scored for Celtic in the 63rd minute, setting up for a nervy half hour with the aggregate score tied and extra time looming. Alphonso Davies' header in the fourth minute of stoppage time, though, saved Bayern an extra 30 minutes of play and spared one European heavyweight the troubles of an earlier-than-expected elimination.
The same was not true for Milan, though, who were ousted by Feyenoord by a 2-1 aggregate scoreline. A star-studded Milan scored in the first minute of the second leg courtesy of Santiago Gimenez, who scored his third goal for the club in five games. Milan continued to rack up shots, with Rafael Leao and Joao Felix playing important roles in the first half, but were unable to score another. Things unraveled for Milan when Theo Hernandez was shown a second yellow early in the second half, and Feyenoord were able to capitalize on one of their few attacking plays. Hugo Bueno's cross in the 74th minute found Julian Carranza's head just moments after he came on, giving the visitors the edge needed to advance.
Elsewhere in Europe, Benfica and Monaco went back and forth in scoring goals but the former advanced 4-3 on aggregate, while Club Brugge pulled off the upset by defeating UEFA Europa League winners Atalanta 5-2 on aggregate.
90'+4 In essentially the last play of the game, Schmeichel makes a save but the ball is back in play and Davies quickly gets his head on it and puts the ball in the back of the net! The goal would send Bayern through to the round of 16 with a 3-2 aggregate lead over Celtic, avoiding extra time altogether.
87' As if today wasn't bad enough for Atalanta, Toloi has now received a red card in the most comical fashion. He's angry after De Cuyper bumps into him, gets up, charges past the referee to shove his opponent in the back. The referee has a perfect view of this and gives Toloi a red card.
84' The drama will not die down in Lisbon! Just a few minutes after Monaco leveled the aggregate score, Benfica score again with Kokcu benefitting after receiving way too much space in the box. He finishes with relative ease to make it 3-3 on the day and to give Benfica a 4-3 lead with just a few minutes on the clock.
81' 18-year-old Ilenikhena nicks the ball off of the experienced Otamendi and goes for goal, taking a shot that slips under the goalkeeper's arm and gives Monaco a 3-2 lead on the day, and levels the tie with Benfica at 3-3! If things don't change in the next nine minutes or so, we're headed for extra time in Lisbon.
73' Kehrer makes a challenge and concedes a penalty, though the decision doesn't come before a lengthy chat between the players and the referee and a VAR check. The in-form Pavlidis steps up to take the spotkick and he makes it look easy, making it 2-2 on the day and giving Benfica a 3-2 lead over Monaco on aggregate. The hosts may not have been the better team today, but they have the lead and the finish line is in sight.
62' At long last, Celtic have their goal and it's 2-2 on aggregate against Bayern! Former Bayern academy player Kuhn is the one to seal the deal, giving them a 1-0 lead right now and setting things up for a thrilling finish in Munich. Game on!
60' The referee heads to the monitor to see if Atalanta have earned a penalty, and he does just that. Lookman steps up but Mignolet makes the save and Atalanta are unable to do much with the rebound! Lookman wasted a big opportunity to help the Europa League winners claw their way back into this tie, but it's still 3-1 to Club Brugge today and 5-2 on aggregate.
51' Monaco have completed the comeback! Ben Seghir makes a great run and wastes little time when he makes contact with the ball, scoring from close range to give Monaco a 2-1 lead at Benfica and to make it 2-2 on aggregate. It wasn't that long ago when the visitors were down 2-0 on aggregate, so they deserve credit for mounting the comeback and setting up for an intriguing finish in Lisbon.
46' Lookman comes on at the break and within 95 seconds of coming on, he scores for Atalanta. The Europa League winners are still 3-1 down today and 5-2 down in the aggregate score, but with a whole half still left to play, one has to ask: Comeback on?
Bayern will finish off this knockout phase playoff tie against Celtic without Harry Kane, who may be dealing with an injury and is replaced by Kingsley Coman to start the second half. It could be a big loss, depending on how this tie shakes out -- they're up 2-1 on aggregate, but it's a narrow lead against a competitive Celtic side.
45'+3 This half has gone as well as possible for Club Brugge, who have a 3-0 lead today over Atalanta and a 5-1 lead on aggregate. The best part of this strike, though, is how memorable it will be -- Jutgla scores his first of the day in sensational fashion with a hit from distance that flies straight into the back of the net.
32' Monaco have an equalizer against Benfica courtesy of Minamino, who takes a shot from an angle that goalkeeper Trubin should be able to save but he doesn't manage to do so. Monaco cut their aggregate deficit by one goal and are now down 2-1 to Benfica, setting up for a fascinating hour ahead in Lisbon.
27' Talbi is on the board again for Club Brugge, pouncing on a rebound with a simple but clinical tap in to give his side a 2-0 lead over Atalanta today and a 4-1 lead on aggregate. Brugge look on pace to complete an upset over the reigning Europa League champions in what is shaping up to be an unpleasant day for Italian teams.
22; Pavlidis combines with Akturkoglu, who taps the ball into the back of the net to give Benfica a 1-0 lead over Monaco on the day and a 2-0 lead on aggregate. Feels like they've got one foot into the round of 16 at this point, though there's still plenty of time on the clock.
17' Celtic are doing what they can to level the aggregate score against Bayern, with McGregor and Kuhn having perfect goalscoring chances to change this tie. They are unable to finish, though, and they have a few more golden chances to choose from but still haven't scored. It's early, but it's hard to deny that the visitors have been wasteful so far.
3' Jutgla plays a stellar pass to Talbi, who makes his way into the box and scores to give Club Brugge a 1-0 lead today and a 3-1 lead on aggregate at Atalanta. The first leg ended in dramatic fashion with Brugge earning and converting a controversial penalty, but they were arguably the better side at home last week and now have another goal to add to their tally as they target a spot in the round of 16.
There's one more instance of drama after the final whistle, with Feyenoord's Read getting a red card. It's unclear what happened, but the 18-year-old won't be available for the round of 16 tie against Inter or Arsenal.
That's a wrap in Milan, where the hosts once looked like the favorites to get through after a thrilling first half, only for things to unravel. Hernandez's second half red card changed the direction of this knockout phase playoff tie, with Milan failing to recapture their first half momentum and ensuring Feyenoord could change things with one moment of brilliance, which came with Carranza's goal.
Carranza and Bueno, who got the assist, deserve credit for ensuring the Dutch side would be through to the last 16 but make no mistake -- Milan were wasteful. They took 18 shots and could've been up a few goals by halftime, but their inability to finish their chances means their European campaign is over, and that's despite the fact that they boasted a star-studded attack.
For Feyenoord, either Inter or Arsenal await in Friday's draw.
88' Milan are doing whatever they can to find a goal, though Feyenoord are doing just as much to keep them at bay, with Hancko managing a block. Feyenoord gain possession and Paixao sees Maignan coming off his line and decides to go for goal, despite being incredibly far away. He's not terribly close in the end but considering the amount of space and time he had, maybe Paixao should've made a run for it for a better shot.
78' Milan's search for another goal begins almost immediately after Carranza's header, with Thiaw getting on the end of a freekick that Reijnders took, but Wellenreuther is once again up for the task and makes the save.
Aggregate score: Milan 1, Feyenoord 2
74' Feyenoord have their equalizer! They haven't exactly been busy in front of goal today but Bueno puts a spectacular box into the box and Carranza's well-timed header from close range means the visitors have thier goal, coming just moments after Carranza entered the game. Milan may have been the better team today but it's Feyenoord who now have the edge on aggregate and a man advantage, and are now about 15 minutes away from a spot in the round of 16.
71' Conceicao makes a couple of changes with 20 minutes of regular time to go, taking off Pulisic and Gimenez for Bartesaghi and Fofana, while Feyenoord take off Redmond for Carranza. Everyone's looking for goals, since this game will head to extra time if the score doesn't change.
60' Gimenez is fouled and so Milan have a freekick just a few feet from the penalty area. Felix, Pulisic and Reijnders initially stand on the ball but it's Reijnders who takes it and he sends the ball straight into the wall, going out for a corner. Feyenoord manage a couple of blocks before sending the ball way out of the penalty area.
52' Hernandez approaches Read and goes down, but the referee quickly spots that there's no contact. He rules that Hernandez took a dive and gives him a second yellow card, and now Milan are down to 10 for the rest of this game. This could be a huge opening for Feyenoord, who certainly aren't out of this tie yet, even if they have been on the back foot since the opening whistle.
48' Now it's Walker's turn to add to Milan's massive shot count, taking an impressive shot from an angle that posed a great chance at being Milan's second goal. Wellenreuther is up for the save and makes an equally terrific stop to keep Feyenoord in this tie.
No changes for either side as a crucial 45 minutes gets underway.
It's been a very impressive half for Milan, who were quick to level the aggregate score and have done almost all they could to build an advantage in this tie. They haven't been able to actually finish off their impressive attacking plays, which could become concerning as the clock ticks down and the possibility of extra time looms. There's a lot of optimism to take from this half, though, and you'd think if Milan keep this up, they just might find the goal they need.
43' Milan keep racking up shots, the latest seeing Felix set Leao up for a nice finish from close range. Again, Leao can't get a great touch on it and isn't able to challenge goalkeeper Wellenreuther much. Milan are up to 11 shots and 1.27 expected goals at this point, but they still have just one goal as halftime approaches.
33' Now it's Leao who has a promising look at goal, with Reijnders sending him a nice ball that should allow him to get at least a nice shot on goal. Leao's first touch lets him down, though, but there's no two ways about it -- this game has essentially been all Milan, all the time. They're doing a lot of things right and there's still plenty of game to play, but the question now is when (or if) that second goal will actually come.
