Mbappe and Alonso big winners at inaugural Globe Soccer Europe Awards

GLASGOW: Bayern Munich took a major step toward the Champions League last 16 as Michael Olize’s thunderbolt and Harry Kane’s clinical finish secured a 2-1 win at Celtic in the play-off round first leg on Wednesday.

Vincent Kompany’s side dominated the first half and a stunning strike from Olize gave them a deserved lead before Kane maintained his red-hot scoring streak after the interval.

Daizen Maeda netted in the closing stages to give Scottish champions Celtic hope of a miraculous escape act in the second leg.

The Japan forward was only playing after his two-game ban was unexpectedly reduced on appeal this week following his red card against Young Boys.

But Bundesliga leaders Bayern will still be favorites to advance to the last 16 when Celtic visit Munich on February 18.

Celtic finished just three points behind Bayern in the league phase, yet there is a huge gulf between the clubs’ European pedigree.

Six-time European champions Bayern lead the Bundesliga by eight points, while Celtic are attempting to reach the last 16 for the first time since 2012-13.

For the first 70 minutes that chasm in quality was clear to see before Bayern eased up in the closing stages, nearly allowing Celtic back into the tie as a result.

Celtic’s first defeat in 33 home matches across all competitions was a welcome confidence boost for Bayern, who had shown a weakness on the road in league phase defeats at Barcelona, Aston Villa and Feyenoord.

Celtic thought they had preyed on that weakness when former Bayern forward Nicolas Kuhn fired home from 20 yards inside the first minute, only for the goal to be disallowed for offside against Adam Idah.

Bayern could have been swept away by the tidal wave of noise cascading down from the Parkhead stands.

But Kompany’s men are too experienced for that and they quickly seized control with a steady diet of possession.

Olize nearly put Bayern ahead with a powerful strike that forced Kasper Schmeichel to save at his near post.

Schmeichel was forced into action again moments later as Kane’s curler was pushed away by the Dane.

Bayern were camped on the edge of the Celtic area as they probed for an opener.

Kane should have broken the deadlock when he nodded Olize’s corner into the side-netting from close-range.

But the England captain’s blushes were spared by Olize on the stroke of half-time.

Cutting inside Greg Taylor to reach Dayot Upamecano’s long pass, Olize unleashed a blistering drive that arrowed into the top corner from 15 yards.

It was no more than Bayern deserved for their territorial dominance and the Germans struck again four minutes after the interval.

Joshua Kimmich’s corner swung all the way to the far post without a Celtic clearance and the unmarked Kane guided a composed volley past Schmeichel from five yards.

Kane’s typically predatory finish took his season tally to 29 goals in 29 games in all competitions.

Upamecano’s challenge on Arne Engels prompted a long VAR check for a potential penalty, but Celtic’s appeal was correctly rejected.

That was the signal for Celtic to mount a late bid to haul themselves back into the tie.

Bayern had grown increasingly sloppy and Rodgers’ men earned their lifeline in the 79th minute when Maeda met Yang Hyun-Jun’s shot with a header from virtually on the line.

Kompany’s men had to cling on for dear life in the final minutes, with Manuel Neuer producing a crucial save to deny Alistair Johnston.

GUINGAMP, France: Ousmane Dembele kept up his remarkable form in front of goal with a double as Paris Saint-Germain took a big step toward qualifying for the last 16 of the Champions League with a 3-0 win over French rivals Brest in the first leg of their play-off tie on Tuesday.
PSG were overwhelming favorites coming into this tie against opponents who had never taken part in European competition before this season, and there seems little prospect of Brest recovering from this loss in next week’s second leg.
Vitinha opened the scoring for PSG at the Stade de Roudourou in Guingamp with a penalty just before the midway point in the first half, and Dembele swept in a second on the stroke of half-time before netting again on 66 minutes.
The French international forward now has 23 goals for the season, including 18 in 11 appearances over the last two months.
Indeed he has 10 goals in just the last four games, a run which includes a hat-trick against Brest in Ligue 1 only 10 days ago.
He is irresistible just now, and Luis Enrique’s side are unbeatable at the moment against French opponents, against whom they have not lost since last May.
“Ousmane is full of confidence just now. He was good in 2024 and he is even better in 2025,” said Luis Enrique.
The teams will meet again in the return leg of this knockout phase play-off tie next Wednesday in Paris, with the winners advancing to a last-16 showdown with either Liverpool or Barcelona.
Assuming they make it through, PSG will feel they are capable of beating either of those sides on current form, although Luis Enrique is taking nothing for granted.
“There is no chance we will treat the second leg like a training game,” said the Spaniard. “Our objective is to qualify for the last 16 by winning the return.”
Brest had not defeated the Parisians in any competition in 40 years, since January 1985, and have now lost 18 of the last 19 meetings between the teams.
They will have to try again next week to end that miserable run.
“It is disappointing and frustrating. I think 3-0 is harsh on us but PSG deserved to win,” said Brest coach Eric Roy. “Not many people will imagine us winning 4-0 at the Parc des Princes.”
Once again hosting a Champions League game an hour away from Brest itself in Guingamp, they nearly got lucky early on, when an attempted clearance by PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma struck the face of forward Ludovic Ajorque and almost ricocheted in.
However, PSG were handed the chance to go ahead when a Dembele shot struck the arm of Pierre Lees-Melou inside the Brest box in the 17th minute.
The Bosnian referee had to come across to check the pitchside monitor before pointing to the spot, and Vitinha then stepped up to send goalkeeper Marco Bizot the wrong way with the penalty.
Brest did not let their heads go down and Abdallah Sima had two big chances to equalize, first being denied by Willian Pacho’s great recovery tackle and then heading against the far post from the resulting corner.
Achraf Hakimi almost scored an own goal too, but instead Paris struck again just before the break, majestically playing their way out of Brest’s press and breaking away.
Hakimi fed Dembele, who cut in from the right and beat the goalkeeper at his near post.
Brest then saw Sima hit a post at the start of the second half, but the visitors continued to look so dangerous.
Desire Doue had the ball in the net only for his effort to be ruled out for a tight offside in the build-up, while Dembele fired wide from a good position.
Dembele did then strike again almost midway through the second half, trying to feed Bradley Barcola and then seeing the ball break back to him before shooting past Bizot with the aid of a deflection.