CHAMPIONS LEAGUE PLAYER RATINGS | Bayern Munich 2-0 Union Saint-Gilloise – Bayern secure qualification to the round of 16 | OneFootball

Bayern Munich played host to Belgian Champions Union Saint-Gilloise in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday evening.

With a win, Vincent Kompany’s side would secure a top-eight position, avoiding the inevitable drama that will follow on matchday eight next week. The visitors arrived in desperate need of three points and would almost certainly face elimination if they came away empty-handed.

Kompany made four changes to his starting line-up after the weekend’s demolition of RB Leipzig. Raphaël Guerreiro filled in at the vacant right-back position, with Min-jae Kim, Joshua Kimmich and Michael Olise all returning.

Rather curiously, Bayern would have to play without the support of their vocal Südkurve at the Allianz Arena, following the repeated use of pyrotechnics during previous Champions League home matches. The fans did get creative, however and packed out the top tier of the Allianz instead.

Bayern started strongly, dominating possession as expected, but they were given a major scare 20 minutes in when Kevin Mac Allister failed to get a clean enough connection on a cross to put the visitors ahead. Minutes later, Manuel Neuer produced a stunning save to deny Union striker Promise David his third Champions League goal of the season.

The hosts’ best chance of a subdued first half came from a corner. After a tame 40 minutes, Guerreiro met the delivery with a header at the near post but saw his effort sail high over the crossbar.

Harry Kane broke the deadlock after a quick start to the second half with a simple header from a corner after being left unmarked just a yard or two from the goal. Less than two minutes later, Kane had his second of the game from the penalty spot after he was brought down by Union goalkeeper Kjell Scherpen.

With Bayern cruising midway through the second half, the contest appeared effectively over, until Min-jae Kim tugged back Raul Florucz, leaving the referee with no option but to show the South Korean a second yellow card.

Just over ten minutes from time, Bayern were awarded another penalty after Michael Olise’s cross struck the arm of a Union defender. Remarkably, with the chance to complete yet another hat-trick, Kane struck the crossbar. Union then gifted Bayern another opportunity to add a third when Pavlović broke down the left flank and squared for Olise, who fired well over the bar with only Scherpen to beat.

It was far from a vintage display from Bayern, but they will be satisfied to have got the job done despite performing well below their best. Kompany’s side return to Bundesliga action on Saturday afternoon as they host struggling Augsburg, before travelling to Eindhoven to face PSV in their final Champions League league-phase fixture of the season, safe in the knowledge that a top-eight finish is already secured.

Bayern Munich 2–0 Union Saint-Gilloise | Player Ratings

Bayern Munich:

Manuel Neuer (7) – Raphaël Guerreiro (6), Min-Jae Kim (5), Jonathan Tah (6), Tom Bischof (6) – Joshua Kimmich (8), Aleksandar Pavlović (7) – Michael Olise (6), Lennart Karl (6), Luis Diaz (6) – Harry Kane (7)

Others: Alphonso Davies (6), Hiroki Ito (6), Serge Gnabry (-), Leon Goretzka (-)

GGFN Man of the Match | Joshua Kimmich

With Bayern’s attacking players not sparkling as they usually do tonight, it was down to Joshua Kimmich to run the show from deep midfield. The German was all over the pitch, with a passing accuracy of 93% and six defensive contributions; he also created two chances at the other end of the pitch (via Fotmob).

GGFN | Harry Good