Blistering Reds down Celtic

FC Bayern comfortably downed Celtic 3-0 on Wednesday evening, handing Jupp Heynckes a second victory in two matches. Thomas Müller, Joshua Kimmich and Mats Hummels scored in a match that, on another day, could easily have ended in a 7-0 rout.

The German record champions started with Sven Ulreich in goal and Kimmich, Jérôme Boateng, Hummels and David Alaba in a back four. Thiago and Sebastian Rudy featured in a twin holding role behind Müller, who wore the armband. The native Bavarian was flanked by Arjen Robben and Kingsley Coman, with Robert Lewandowski as lone striker.

New boss Jupp Heynckes made one change to the team that saw off Freiburg on Saturday. Javi Martínez, who sustained a shoulder injury in the match, gave way to Rudy. Midway through the second half Arturo Vidal came on for Thiago, with Rafinha and James replacing Kimmich and Coman in the closing stages.

Utter dominance

The 72,000 capacity crowd at the Allianz Arena saw the Bavarians go straight onto the front foot, and their dominance was so overwhelming it seemed like a miracle the contest was still goalless after 15 minutes. Barely five minutes had been played when Thiago had the crowd on its feet, but match official Sergei Karasev decided the ball had gone out of play when Lewandowski set up the Spaniard.

Another debatable decision came a minute later, when Lewandowski was pulled back by Mikael Lustig in Celtic's box, but Karasev waved away Bayern's appeals. Alaba soon got hold of the ball 15 yards out but fired into the Munich night sky.

Munich broke the deadlock when Lewandowski drew a fine save from visiting netminder Craig Gordon, Müller being on hand to mop up. The Scots were unable to stem the tide, Lewandowski missing two chances before Kimmich once again demonstrated his nose for goal, connecting with a brilliant Coman cross to power a 15-yard header that sailed majestically into the far corner of the net.

Relentless Reds add a third

The visitors were reeling even more after the restart, with Bayern buoyed by their two-goal lead and an impressive first half display. Hummels soon beat Celtic's rearguard to a Robben corner, heading home to close out the meeting. The German record champions alternated pressure and patience now but were always a step quicker then the Bhoys, creating a number of presentable chances.

A Robben header was scrambled off the goal-line before Lewandowski had the ball in the back of the net but was denied by the linesman's offside flag. Gordon saved from Lewandowski and Robben before his Bavarian counterpart Ulreich, who had barely touched the ball due to his side's dominance, was called into action by Kieran Tierney. The FCB backup keeper then demonstrated all his skill and quality, saving from Tom Rogic and James Forrest. Celtic did overcome Ulreich with five minutes to go, but Scott Sinclair was caught offside. Vidal miscued a finish before seeing another effort stopped by Gordon, who made a world-class save to deny Müller before Karasev blew for full-time.

The result takes Bayern onto six points from three matches. The Reds lie second in Group B, three short of PSG. Heynckes' troops are back in action in just three days, when they travel to face Hamburg in the Bundesliga before taking on Leipzig in the DFB Cup next Wednesday.

Live match report for fcbayern.com by Greg Salmen