Bayern Munich in Champions League play-offs despite beating Slovan Bratislava

Bayern Munich had to settle for a place in the Champions League play-off round despite beating Slovan Bratislava 3-1 in their final group stage game.

Thomas Muller, Harry Kane and Kingsley Coman were all on target for Vincent Kompany’s side, but results elsewhere meant Bayern were unable to finish in the top eight and automatically progress to the last 16.

Slovan had lost all seven of their previous games in the competition this season and came under pressure from the outset as Bayern sought the comprehensive win required to have a chance of making the top eight.

Mathys Tel’s early header from Sacha Boey’s cross was well saved by Dominik Takac, who was soon called into action again to beat away a Kane shot from a narrow angle at the near post.

It looked a matter of time before the home side opened the scoring and the goal duly arrived in the eighth minute as Muller was left unmarked just eight yards out to head home from a Joshua Kimmich cross.

Kimmich also set up Tel to fire a left-footed shot narrowly wide but Bayern were unable to make their dominance of possession count and the visitors should have equalised in the 25th minute.

Tigran Barseghyan did superbly to turn away from Josip Stanisic on the right wing and burst clean through on goal, but struck his shot too close to a grateful Manuel Neuer.

Slovan continued to be vulnerable from crosses and Kane glanced a header wide from Muller’s ball into the box before Leroy Sane’s shot was well saved by Takac and Michael Olise’s shot was blocked in front of the goalkeeper.

The home side finally doubled their lead just after the hour mark as substitute Jamal Musiala, who had replaced Muller a minute earlier, made an instant impact with a pinpoint cross for Kane to head home from close range.

Coman made it 3-0 six minutes from time as he fired into an empty net after Serge Gnabry’s initial shot had been saved, before Sane rattled the crossbar with a thunderous left-foot shot two minutes later.

To their credit, Slovan refused to throw in the towel and they got their reward in the 90th minute as substitute Marko Tolic lashed a shot over Neuer and into the roof of the net from a narrow angle.