Bayern Munich Enlarge Opportunities To Defend Title After Qualifying From Group A.
JAKARTA - Bayern Munich increased their chances of defending their Champions League title, after becoming the first team to qualify for the knockout stages of Group A.
Entertaining Red Bull Salzburg at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday local time (Thursday WIB), Bayern bagged a convincing 3-1 win over their guests to cement their position at the top of Group A with a collection of 12 points.
Meanwhile, Salzburg (1), despite being stuck at the bottom of the standings, have a wide chance of following Bayern into the last 16, thanks to a zero draw between Atletico Madrid (5) and Lokomotiv Moscow (3) in another match, Antara notes on the official UEFA website.
At the Allianz Arena, Bayern were troubled by the game of pressing Salzburg and were fortunate not to be left behind.
The reigning champions were only able to open the scoring in the 42nd minute, when Robert Lewandowski sent a heel pass for Thomas Mueller to continue with a shot. The ball was held by Salzburg goalkeeper Cican Stankovic, before Lewandowski grabbed it into the visitors' goal.
Salzburg hit the Bayern defense again and created chances from Dominik Szoboszlai and Mergim Berisha, but Bayern were able to double the lead in the 52nd minute.
The goal was preceded by Leon Goretzka's success in grabbing the ball from Szoboszlai, before passing it to Kingsley Coman. Coman then dribbled past the Salzburg defender, and Maximilian Woeber tried to block Coman's shot but deflected the ball into his own net.
Bayern had to play with ten players from the 66th minute due to Marc Roca receiving a second yellow card after breaking Zlatko Junuzovic. However, they managed to score a third in the 68th minute when Gnabry sprinted down the right before sending the ball to a Leroy Sane header.
Salzburg just managed to score a consolation goal in the 73rd minute. Bayern's defense was slightly off guard when Rasmus Kristensen thrust the ball at Berisha, who sped into the box before firing a shot into Manuel Neuer.
In the other match in Group A, Atletico Madrid were held to a 0-0 draw by their guest Lokomotiv Moscow. The result keeps Atletico in second place with five points, while Lokomotiv is third with three points and both of them still have a chance to qualify for the last 16.
In the fifth round match which will be played on Wednesday, December 2, Atletico will host Bayern while Lokomotiv will host Salzburg's caretaker team.