Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers will not change side's approach despite defeat

Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers will not compromise his style of play despite another heavy Champions League defeat.

Celtic were brushed aside 3-0 by Bayern Munich in Germany on Wednesday night.

The visitors were two down by half-time and could have conceded more than the three they did, before a late rally.

"I'd rather lose playing how we want to play and how we want to work as opposed to sit in and defending for 90 minutes and still lose if that's the case," the Celtic manager said.

Asked whether a more pragmatic approach might have served Celtic better in terms of containing Bayern, he added: "We decide how we play.

Mats Hummels scored Bayern Munich's third goal from another ball into the box

"There was nothing about being pragmatic for the goals we conceded. We didn't defend our box well enough from crosses coming in - we can do better with those.

"Myself and my staff and the players had a plan going into the game and there was lots of positives for us and something to look forward to for the second game at Celtic Park."

Celtic, who followed a 5-0 home loss to Group B leaders Paris St-Germain with a 3-0 win at Anderlecht, sit third above the Belgians, who are yet to get off the mark.

While the Scottish champions do have the chance to avenge this one-sided loss in front of their own fans in two weeks' time, Rodgers conceded that would not be achieved easily.

"You need to be realistic, you need to respect who we're playing against and of course we want to be competitive at this level but you also have to measure the level and the quality you're playing against," he added.

"The players gave absolutely everything tonight. This is a really honest group of men, who domestically have been amazing.

"To qualify for this competition was a huge ask and progress for us is to be in Europe after Christmas and that's still our aim and our focus. But of course in every game we play, we want to give of our best."

Craig Gordon was left helpless as Joshua Kimmich nodded in Bayern's second

Celtic were short of their best for the bulk of this match, with Thomas Muller, Joshua Kimmich and Mats Hummels on target for the hosts, but Rodgers sought to accentuate what positives there were, having seen his side create some chances late on.

"There was still a lot for us in the game, particularly in the second half - how we built the game from behind and tried to play how we like to work, to create our chances," he said.

"There's no denying we were playing against a top-class side but we feel we could be better with the goals we conceded and with some of our build-up play.

"For this group, it's about constructing a mindset and a way of working. It's not going to happen overnight.

"It's constant experience but there was enough in the game for me to see the players are improving and it's something we're developing over the coming years hopefully."