Celtic take German lessons to avert 'absolute thumping'

When Harry Kane volleyed Bayern Munich into a two-goal Champions League play-off lead, former Celtic striker Chris Sutton feared his old side would be on the end of "an absolute thumping".

With the drubbing in Dortmund earlier in the competition still fresh in the mind, he surely wouldn't have been the only one with such worries.

Yet in their latest tussle with a German giant, Celtic emerged defeated 2-1, but "not broken" in the words of manager Brendan Rodgers.

In times gone by, a thrashing might have ensued after going behind, but this time Celtic scrapped until the final whistle in search of an unlikely equaliser.

There was a confidence and savvy about Rodgers' side, to the degree that Sutton - speaking on Champions League Match of the Day - said Celtic were "dominant at the end and probably feel a little bit hard done by that they didn't get an equaliser".

Celtic 'suffer' but show spirit

Until the 79th minute, Celtic seemed likely to be left rueing the offside flag which cancelled out Nicolas Kuhn's apparent opener inside the first 30 seconds at a fervent Celtic Park.

Michael Olise's outstanding, emphatic finish could have winded a side seemingly searching for air, while Kane's merciless volley had the potential to suck the life out of them.

Much like Karim Adeyemi's first-half hat-trick for Dortmund did back in October.

In the four months since, though, victories against RB Leipzig and Young Boys have been celebrated and draws with Atalanta, Club Brugge and Dinamo Zagreb enjoyed.

And Celtic have developed a resilience and the means to respond to adversity.

"You know you have to suffer at this level but you have to have the ability to come back and that's what makes me proud at the end of the game," Rodgers said.

"You can always lose at this level. But what must never happen is you must never be broken. The players weren't broken.

"They kept going, kept trying to play, kept fighting. Then we got a reward for that."

Given his suspension, and then his surprise availability after his ban was reduced, Daizen Maeda seemed destined to be the man to deliver that reward.

The Japan international became the first player from his country to score four Champions League goals in a single season, while he is also the first Celtic player to score four goals in a season in the competition.

Rodgers recently described him as "a machine", and Maeda's endeavour to get on the end of a Yang Hyun-jun flick from a corner means the Scottish champions go to Germany with a slice of hope.

"They are still in the tie and they will take heart from the way they finished the game," Sutton added.

"Make no mistake, it is still going to be a tall order for them to go to Munich and get something, but the way it was looking when Harry Kane put Bayern 2-0 up, you feared they would end up getting an absolute thumping.

"That wasn't the case and fair play to the players for sticking at it."

'We're still right in this tie'

Rodgers' pre-match wish was for the tie to still be "alive" when his side arrive in Bavaria next week.

That will be the case, but it could have been even better.

Maeda rounded Manuel Neuer and had a sight at an open goal - albeit from a very acute angle - while Reo Hatate had a long-range hit diverted, and Alistair Johnston's late strike was saved by the experienced keeper.

According to Rodgers, the German giants "were happy" for the final whistle.

"Celtic made opportunities and Bayern need to keep that in mind," former Scotland international Pat Nevin said on BBC 5 Live.

"They won't give up and football is strange sometimes. Anything could happen."

On Monday afternoon, no-one thought Maeda would play. By minute 78 of this game, few thought Celtic had any semblance of a chance. And yet here we are.

"We hung in against a really top side and gave them problems," Rodgers added.

"We go over next week, we'll play at a great stadium, great pitch, and we've showed we can play. We have to have that aggressive mindset.

"We're still right in the tie. It's only a one-goal difference. It's a big challenge, we know that but it's still a possibility."

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