MY ACCOUNT
Kingsley Coman scored a 90th-minute equaliser at Salzburg to salvage a 1-1 draw for a below-par Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.
Julian Nagelsmann’s side received a wave of criticism after a sensational 4-2 Bundesliga defeat to Bochum at the weekend, and they were almost on the wrong end of another upset in Austria on Wednesday.
Junior Adamu looked to have scored the decisive goal after 21 minutes in what was the hosts’ first ever game in the knockout stages of the Champions League.
Salzburg were denied a famous win late on, though, as Coman stole in at the back post to put Bayern in control ahead of the return leg next month.
Bayern were punished for a sloppy start when Adamu, who replaced the injured Noah Okafor early on, finished past Sven Ulreich from just inside the penalty area after an incisive counter-attacking move.
Brenden Aaronson was denied by Ulreich soon after, while at the other end Leroy Sane flashed wide from a promising position.
Serge Gnabry saw two efforts blocked and Coman headed straight at Philipp Kohn as Bayern failed to pull level before the interval.
Bayern scarcely improved after the break, with their first notable efforts not coming until shortly after the 70-minute mark as Kohn denied Coman and Sane in quick succession.
However, when Benjamin Pavard superbly blocked Adamu’s goalbound shot after Ulreich had denied Karim Adeyemi, it set the stage for Coman to break Salzburg hearts by firing past Kohn.
What does it mean? Bayern deny Salzburg a famous win
Bayern will be expected to progress to the last eight after Coman’s late intervention, but they were pushed all the way by Salzburg’s young guns in an enthralling first leg.
The average age of Salzburg’s starting XI was 23 years and 242 days – the youngest in the knockout stages of the Champions League for any team in almost 19 years, since Ajax in April 2003 against Milan (22 years and 205 days).
Adamu’s immediate impact
Adamu was certainly not fazed by his early introduction, firing in his first Champions League goal just nine minutes after replacing the unfortunate Okafor. Indeed, his goal was the earliest by a substitute in a Champions League game since Thierry Henry scored against Slavia Prague for Arsenal in October 2005 (also the 21st minute).
Lewandowski goes missing
Top scorer Robert Lewandowski was nowhere to be seen for Bayern, remarkably failing to have a single shot as his team-mates largely toiled against their less illustrious opponents.
Key Opta Facts
– Coman’s 90th-minute equaliser saw Bayern extend the longest unbeaten streak away from home by a team in Champions League history to 22 games (W17 D5).
– After losing five of their first nine home games in the Champions League, Salzburg are unbeaten in all four of their home games in the competition this season – winning three and drawing this game.
– This was the first time that Bayern have trailed in the Champions League this season, making them the final team in the competition this term to have done so. Indeed, this was only the second time in their past 12 games in the competition that they have been behind (previously v Paris Saint-Germain in April 2021).
– Adamu became the fourth different player aged 21 or younger to score for Salzburg in the Champions League this season (also Sucic, Adeyemi and Okafor) – the most by a team in a single season since Borussia Dortmund in 2016-17 (Weigl, Passlack, Dembele, Pulisic).
What’s next?
Both sides are in domestic action on Sunday, with Bayern hosting bottom side Greuther Furth and Salzburg at home to Wolfsberger. The second leg of this tie is set for March 8 in Munich.
