With a convincing 5-1 victory over Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday, Bayern Munich advanced one step closer to making it to the Champions League knockout stages.
With Shakhtar unable to play at home because of the conflict in Ukraine, the Bavarians traveled to Gelsenkirchen for the encounter, missing important players including Harry Kane, Alphonso Davies, and Manuel Neuer due to injuries. Despite being overwhelming favorites, Vincent Kompany’s team had a rough start and was behind after just five minutes as Kevin completed a brilliant counterattack to give Shakhtar an unexpected lead.
Bayern quickly responded, though, as Konrad Laimer’s goal in the eleventh minute tied the score. Bayern kept making brilliant plays in their quest for the lead, but they frequently lacked the finishing touch and made poor decisions in the final third. The ball next fell to Georgiy Sudakov, who missed the mark from a decent position in the 44th minute, giving Shakhtar another unexpected lead.
Bayern, on the other hand, went up the other end and took a lead that they could maintain until halftime. The visitors’ second goal of the evening was set up by Thomas Müller after Bayern gained control high up the field. Shakhtar gave Bayern some trouble with corner kicks at the start of the second half, but the Bavarians were unharmed.
After regaining control of the game, Bayern believed they had taken the lead in the 65th minute when Jamal Musiala headed a corner kick in at the back post. The referee controversially disallowed the goal, ruling that Mathys Tel had blocked the way of Shakhtar goalie Dmytro Riznyk.
Soon after, Alaa Ghram was found to have fouled Sacha Boey, and Bayern scored their third goal from a penalty that was just as contentious as Musiala’s. Michael Olise took Harry Kane’s place at the plate and delivered a chilling blow.
Jamal Musiala and Michael Olise, who dribbled through the Shakhtar defense shortly before the final whistle, gave Bayern two late goals in the closing minutes to complete a convincing 5-1 triumph. With matches against Feyenoord and Slovan Bratislava yet to come, Bayern’s Champions League standing now stands at 12 points from six games.
