The Young Blues went into the game knowing all they had to do was avoid defeat in order to make it to the next stage of the inaugural competition.
However, Bayern Munich were a much improved side to the one which suffered a 6-0 defeat in the reverse fixture back in early October and after beating league leaders CSKA Moscow in their last outing, they knew this was not going to be an easy task.
There were a few changes to the side that beat Plzen 3-0 at the end of last month. Angus Gunn returned from injury and was back between the sticks in place of Billy O’Brien.
In doing so, the young keeper returned to the city of his father’s greatest moment in football, when in the UEFA Cup in 1993 Bryan Gunn’s Norwich City famously overcame Bayern at the Olympic Stadium.
Also back in the squad were Mathias Bossaerts who replaced Pablo Maffeo and captain Marcos Lopes who came in for Kean Bryan. Bayern meanwhile made just one change to the team that beat CSKA last month, with Michael Eberwein making way for Gaudino Gianluca.
The game got off to a snappy start on a bright day in Munich, with both sides showing plenty of attacking intent early on. Within a minute, the in-form Devante Cole tested Bayern’s keeper after some neat footwork in the box.
However, the opening momentum was short lived and, with both teams aware of the importance of this tie, it seemed some nerves set in and the game soon turned into quite a tetchy, cagey affair.
...Bayern u19s v City EDS: Match report...
The best chance of the opening exchanges fell to Sinan Bytyqi when his superb free-kick was kept out by a fine save after Marcos Lopes was fouled by Daniel Hagler outside Bayern’s box. The Austrian was extremely unlucky not to have put the Blues ahead.
The hosts were next to go close when Stefan Hager’s cross from the right found Simon Seferings inside the box, but Gunn had come off his line and did just enough to clear the danger.
Moments later, captain Marcos Lopes produced a moment of brilliance just on the stroke of half-time. His fantastic footwork saw him negotiate his way in the Bayern box, but he couldn’t quite get his shot past Raif Husic.
...Bayern u19s v City EDS: Match report...
City were fortunate not to concede just before the break when they failed to clear Daniel Hager’s free-kick, but thankfully for the Blues, there were no Bayern bodies in the area to pounce on the loose ball as the referee signalled the end of the first period.
Patrick Vieira’s men looked a lot more settled when they emerged from the tunnel for the second half and Lopes again went close when, following a slick run through the middle of the park, he let loose with his left foot – but the shot was just wide.
Bayern responded straight away when they were awarded a free-kick in the middle of the park for a foul on Hagler. The midfielder took the set piece himself and floated a beautiful ball into the box which found Giuseppe Leo, whose header narrowly missed the target.
A period of end to end action followed as both teams continued to search for the opener with the two keepers called into action on occasion.
Both manager’s made changes after the 60 minute mark in an attempt to shake things up, with Thierry Ambrose replacing Jose Angel Pozo for the Blues.
As the game entered its final 20 minutes, it looked as though the visitors were finally about to break the deadlock when a loose ball fell to Cole in the box, but the striker couldn’t get the better of Husic who tipped the ball to safety - it seemed the floodgates just weren’t for opening.
What ensued was a nerve wracking end with plenty of incident. Bayern felt they should have been awarded not one, but two penalties before Hager was shown a second yellow and dismissed just before full time.
City though showed great spirit to stand strong and hold on to deservedly secure their place in the next round of the competition.
The competition now splits off from the senior UEFA Champions League and we’ll bring you news of who City will face when the last 16 draw is made on 16 December.
