FC Bayern have taken a big step towards the last sixteen of the Champions League after beating Sporting Lisbon 3-1 on matchday 6 in the CL league phase
With a 3:1 home win against Sporting Lisbon, FC Bayern opened the door wide for the last 16 of the Champions League. The German record champions are in second place in the top flight after six matchdays
Another win in the remaining two games against Union Saint-Gilloise (January 21) or PSV Eindhoven (January 28) would secure FCB’s ticket to the knockout round
Davies celebrates his squad comeback
Vincent Kompany made seven changes to his starting XI compared to the 5-0 win at VfB Stuttgart: Neuer, Tah, Gnabry, Kane, Karl, Stanisic and Pavlovic came into the team for Urbig, Minjae, Goretzka, Jackson, Bischof, Guerreiro (all bench) and Luis Díaz (suspended)
Particularly pleasing: Alphonso Davies was back in the Munich squad for the first time after 262 days of injury following his cruciate ligament rupture
Karl offside, Kane on the posts
Bayern were the dominant team right from the start and pressed the Portuguese side deep into their own half, despite playing a 5-man defense
Lennart Karl was on target in the 5th minute after his precise finish was tapped into the net, but the VAR conceded the goal due to a close offside
Karl had the next chance in the 18th minute, when the 17-year-old fired the ball over the goal from close range after a pass from Gnabry
With more than 70 per cent possession, Bayern repeatedly pinned the visitors back and in the 24th minute Rui Silva defused a powerful long-range shot from Serge Gnabry
Lisbon made their first dangerous appearance in front of the Munich goal in the 29th minute when Jonathan Tah made a diving save from a sharp cross by Geny. However, his save almost ended up in his own goal, but Manuel Neuer prevented it with a lightning-fast reflex save
Things got dangerous again shortly before the break (44′) when Karl danced his way through the Sporting penalty area, but his shot was saved by Silva. The score remained 0-0 at the break
Kimmich scores in his own goal, Gnabry, Karl and Tah turn the game around
Bayern continued to press after the break, but scoring chances remained few and far between
Then, in the 54th minute, came the cold shower: Sporting made a quick switch against a Munich side that had moved wide. Joao Simoes drove the ball into the FCB penalty area and delivered it sharply into the middle. Kimmich tried to clear the ball, but his sliding tackle rolled into his own goal
Vincent Kompany’s team, however, were hardly shocked. The record champions immediately switched back on the attack and promptly equalized in the 65th minute. After a corner from Olise, Gnabry found himself completely free in front of the Sporting goal and scored from close range
Bayern did not let up and turned the game completely in their favor four minutes later, when a cross from Laimer found Karl completely free in front of Silva to put the hosts 2-1 in front
Jonathan Tah put the game beyond doubt in the 77th minute when Gnabry played in a precise half-field cross for Tah to make it 3-1 from close range
In the end, the Munich side confidently put the result behind them
FC Bayern will continue their Bundesliga campaign next Sunday when they host Mainz 05 at home in the Allianz Arena.