MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) -Bayern Munich eased past Slovan Bratislava 3-1 in the Champions League on Wednesday but the Germans missed out on a top-eight finish and automatic qualification and will go into a playoff for a spot in the Round of 16.

Harry Kane helps Bayern Munich to beat Slovan Bratislava but victory is only good enough to earn the German club a play-off spot in the.

Bayern Munich take on Slovan Bratislava on Wednesday, Jan. 29, at the Allianz Arena. Kickoff is set for an 9 p.m. CET local time start in Germany, making it an 8 p.m. GMT kickoff in the UK. It's a 3 p.m. ET or 12 p.m. PT start in the US and Canada, and a 7 a.m. AEDT kickoff in Australia on Thursday morning.

With a spot in the knockouts already secure, Bayern Munich have a chance to sneak into the top eight of the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday when the league phase comes to a close. Bayern enter Matchday 8 in 15th place but are just one point shy of a spot in the top eight and so direct passageway to the round of 16 is a real possibility for Vincent Kompany's side.

Bayern Munich concluded the league phase of the 2024-25 Champions League by reaching the knockout stage playoffs with a 12th-place finish after a 3-1 win over Slovan Bratislava on Wednesday.

Bayern went from the joy of a resounding 9-2 victory against Dinamo Zagreb to the despair of back-to-back defeats against Aston Villa and Barcelona, before they found some consistency with a run of three successive European wins over Benfica, Paris Saint-Germain and Shakhtar Donetsk.

Bayern Munich defeated Slovan Bratislava 3-1 in the final league phase match in the Champions League on Wednesday, but the German side still failed to qualify directly to the last 16. Only the top eight teams advanced directly to the last 16,