Bayern Munich clinch spot in Champions League knockout rounds

Bayern Munich received two goals from Robert Lewandowski to beat PSV Eindhoven 2-1 in the Netherlands on Tuesday. The match was tight between the two teams, even if the first half was marred by poor refereeing.

Bayern were denied a clear penalty when Hector Moreno hugged Lewandowski to the ground on a corner kick early in the contest. Then, quickly on the other end, PSV’s Santiago Arias scored a rebound header from a clear offside header to give PSV the lead.

Bayern equalized shortly thereafter but not without some controversy of their own. PSV’s Andres Guardado was whistled for a penalty over a handball, and replays showed that the Mexican international’s hand was down by his side in a harsh decision by the referee. Lewandowski would go on to convert the penalty.

Carlo Ancelotti made a change in the second half to bring on Douglas Costa and Kingsley Coman and changing the formation to a 4-2-3-1. It allowed more interplay on the left side between Costa and Alaba, and it immediately paid off for them.

After some nifty interplay out wide between Costa and David Alaba, the Austrian crossed the ball into the penalty area, where Lewandowski was on hand to deflect the ball into the back of the net to give Bayern the lead.

While Bayern came close in the final fifteen minutes to adding another to their lead, the game would eventually end in a 2-1 victory for Bayern.

The result means that both Bayern and Atletico Madrid have qualified for the knockout rounds of the Champions League. After Atleti scored late to beat Rostov, Bayern now trail their Spanish rivals by three points in the group.

The teams will return to the Champions League on November 23 with Bayern heading to Russia to take on FC Rostov, while PSV ventures to Spain for a match with Atleti.

Match Details

PSV Eindhoven 1-2 Bayern Munich

PSV Eindhoven: Santiago Arias (14)
Bayern Munich: Robert Lewandowski (34, 73)

PSV XI: Pasveer; Arias, Schwaab, Isimat, Moreno; Willems (Brenet 45), Pröpper, Guardado; Ramselaar (Zynchenko 74), Pereiro (Bergwijn 67), De Jong

Bayern XI: Neuer; Lahm, Boateng, Hummels, Alaba; Kimmich (Coman 64), Alonso, Vidal; Müller (Sanches 85), Robben (Costa 64), Lewandowski