Bayern see off Plzen to reach Champions League last 16. Bayern Munich defeated Viktoria Plzen 4-2 on Wednesday in the Champions League, moving the German team into the round of 16. Leon Goretzka scored twice to lead Bayern Munich to the victory.
With 12 points after four games, Bayern, which has won its Champions League group the last four seasons, is currently in first place in Group C.
The other game in their area on Wednesday ended in a thrilling 3-3 tie between Barcelona and Inter Milan, securing their place in the last 16.
After being defeated 5-0 by Bayern a week prior, Plzen was down 2-0 after just 10 minutes in the Czech Republic.
To get past the Plzen defense, Sadio Mane and Goretzka engaged in a give-and-go, after which Mane had no trouble shooting past Jindrich Stanek, the goalie for Plzen.
Julian Nagelsmann made six changes from the first meeting, using Joshua Kimmich and Thomas Mueller who had missed the home game because of Covid-19 infections.
Mueller scored Bayern’s second on 14 minutes with an easy tap-in after Kingsley Coman sprinted down the left flank and found him facing a wide open goal.
Goretzka scored the third into the bottom corner after Mueller’s low cross picked him out by the penalty spot on 25 minutes.
Ten minutes later, Goretzka chipped the ball over Stanek after a perfect through pass from Leroy Sane, turning the first half into a nightmare for the Czech underdogs.
Bayern see off Plzen to reach Champions League last 16. But with nothing to lose, Plzen offered a much livelier performance in the second half.
Adam Vlkanova blasted in a headed pass from Jhon Mosquera on 62 minutes past Sven Ulreich, who had replaced the injured Manuel Neuer.
With 15 minutes to go, Jan Kliment fired home neatly on the turn from a pass from fellow substitute Libor Holik but Plzen were eliminated from the competition.
Bayern travel to Barcelona in the next round of games on October 26 while Inter host Plzen.
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