Celtic

Former Celtic midfielder Peter Grant: "Getting the goal back gives us great hope. I thought there was a 10-15 minute spell towards the end of the game where a few half chances were created and it was a bit unfortunate not to score again.

"Bayern are a team who are more than capable of winning it, but I think Celtic are more than capable of going across there, but we'll have to be at our very, very best and pick up a result that'll go down in history.

"If Celtic turn this around, this will be one of the greatest results in the club's history."

Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton: "Celtic finished the stronger team. It took until after Bayern eased off after scoring their second goal but Celtic showed their resilience and ended up taking the game to them - they were much braver in the final third in the closing stages.

"Celtic have lost but look they are still in the tie which is what Brendan Rodgers wanted. They will take heart from the way they finished."

Former Scotland international James McFadden: "In years gone by, that could have been a totally different story. The reaction was superb.

"Towards the end, Celtic looked the better side. They looked more threatening and Bayern lost all the control they had.

"Celtic coming back with that belief, energy and intent is a warning to Bayern. Listen, it's not over. It's highly unlikely, but Bayern have work to do next week."

Former Scotland international Pat Nevin: "There was a penalty Celtic didn't get, some referees might've given that. They scored an early goal which was unfortunately ruled out for offside.

"They made opportunities and they need to keep that in mind. They won't give up and football is strange, football is mad sometimes. Anything could happen."

We asked for your views on Celtic's 2-1 defeat against Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League play-off.

Here's what some of you said:

Roderick: At this level, second rate. Bayern were superior in all aspects: passing, pressing, instant ball control, speed, reflexes and awareness. When Celtic won the ball the player had virtually no options available because of the pressing. The midfield of Celtic were out of their depth. I have been a Celtic supporter for over 70 years and was in Lisbon. Money rules.

Angus: Still not on a par with Champions League big boys, but are learning and progressing. Domestic dominance means they are unfamiliar with playing without the ball - they need to adapt.

David: Celtic were good. Bayern were the better side but not by much. Daizen Maeda's goal keeping us in the tie. A suggestion to Brendan Rodgers: play our three wingers from the off in Munich, Maeda through the middle. I saw more worry in the Bayern defence in the last 20 minutes than with Adam Idah as striker. Our three wingmen are fast and elusive and terrific playing together.

George: Celtic seemed to have more stamina and the ability to play at a high level for the full 90 minutes. Bayern ran out of steam in the last 15 minutes allowing Celtic to get on top. Maeda was the prime example.

Mark: There were at least two clear and obvious errors by the referee that VAR chose to ignore. Bayern Munich players knocking the ball out but the referee giving the decision in their favour. Also, blatant penalty denied when Bayern player stood on Celtic player's foot in the box. If this had happened outside the box it would have been given.

Alan: Good, hard-working performance. They could have capitulated after being totally outplayed for most of the game and going down 2-0, but stuck with it and were in with a chance of equalising in the latter stages.

Martin Watt
BBC Sport Scotland

Celtic got away with it once. But when they left Harry Kane unmarked at a corner a second time, they were ruthlessly punished by Bayern Munich's England striker.

Kane's goal ended up separating the sides after a raucous night at Parkhead. And while Celtic skipper Callum McGregor admitted that instance of lax defending was a "lesson" to be learned, he stressed the importance of his side's strong finish that had Bayern "hanging on" for a 2-1 win in the Champions League play-off first leg.

"They've got big quality and you see that with the with the level of goals," McGregor told Celtic TV.

"An amazing finish for the first one and then obviously Harry Kane, you leave him unmarked inside the penalty box and he's going to get goals. So a little bit of a lesson for us in that one.

"But we're competitive, we're still in the tie and and that's where we want to be come next week."

Yang Hyun-jun, so often a peripheral figure during his Celtic career, helped ignite the home side to life with an impressive cameo off the bench and it was from the South Korean's touch that Daizen Maeda headed Celtic's late lifeline.

"The last 25 minutes is a good template for us and once we started to find that personality to play forward then you can see we can cause them problems," McGregor added.

"The bravery and the way the boys stay in the game even now at this level, you've got to commend them for that because at 2-0 the game can look difficult.

"The last 25 minutes we get going and and it's a different game at the end - they're sort of hanging on a little bit so we can take big confidence into next week."

Celtic winger Nicolas Kuhn rued the offside decision that denied him a sensational first-minute opener, with Adam Idah deemed to be obstructing Manuel Neuer's vision as the ball flashed past the Germany goalkeeper.

"It could have been a nice start, but unfortunately it wasn't," said Kuhn.

"The stadium was going crazy, it was amazing. The flag came up really late, so I was still hoping it was not offside.

Former France striker Loic Remy, who won the Premier League with Chelsea, says missing out on playing in the Old Firm match is his biggest regret in football. (Plejmo.com via Daily Record), external

Celebrity Celtic fan Sir Rod Stewart gatecrashed TNT and CBS' TV coverage of Celtic against Bayern Munich - and promised to fly pundit Jamie Carragher to watch the return leg in Germany. (Daily Record), external

Read the rest of Thursday's gossip.

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• Bayern have progressed from their last 13 Champions League knockout ties after winning the first leg.

• Celtic's home unbeaten run in all competitions has come to end after 33 matches. This was their first defeat since losing to Hearts in December 2023.

• Since the start of last season, Harry Kane has scored more goals than any other player in Europe's big five leagues across all competitions (73).

• Kane has been involved in 46 Champions League goals (36 goals, 10 assists) - the only Englishmen with more are David Beckham (52 -16 goals, 36 assists) and Wayne Rooney (47 -30 goals, 17 assists).

• This was Brendan Rodgers' first Champions League knockout match as a manager, with his first 32 all coming in the group stage. Only Fatih Terim (37th game) has had a longer wait than Rodgers (33rd game).

• Daizen Maeda is the first Japanese player to score four Champions League goals in a single season, while he's also the first Celtic player to score four goals in a season in the competition.

• Manuel Neuer became the oldest Bayern player to appear in a Champions League knockout match (38 years, 322 days), overtaking Lothar Matthaus in the 1999 final (38 years, 66 days).

David Currie
BBC Sport Scotland

Image source, Reuters

Celtic midfielder Arne Engels says his side have shown they can match Bayern Munich and must believe they can do so again in the away leg of their Champions League tie next Tuesday.

Speaking after the 2-1 first-leg defeat at Celtic Park on Wednesday, the German insisted his the Scottish champions could take plenty from the game.

"There are a lot of positive points. We just need to keep on believing in ourselves. We're still in the game and that was the aim.

"We have shown we can match Bayern and it's up to us now to go there and believe we can do something. We don't need to change a lot.

"I think we are improving in every aspect. We can be compact and you saw in the last 20 minutes that we really can hurt them."

Engels thought he might have had the opportunity to score from the penalty spot when he was challenged by Bayern defender Dayot Upamecano.

No foul was awarded on the field and, although referee Jesus Gil Manzano was called to the monitor to review his decision, he stuck with his original ruling.

"I felt something on my foot and I thought it was a penalty, but I heard from the guys that he slightly touched it with his toe," Engels said.

"I think if the referee needs to go to the screen maybe it would have been a penalty, but it wasn't. So we had to keep on going."

Daizen Maeda's deft header kept Celtic's hopes of reaching the Champions League last 16 alive, despite the Scottish Premiership side falling to defeat against Bayern Munich in Glasgow.

Japan international Maeda, whose suspension for the first leg was only overturned on Monday, hauled Brendan Rodgers' side back into a tie which appeared beyond them after goals either side of the break for Bayern.

Michael Olise's outrageous strike on the stroke of half-time set Vincent Kompany's side on their way to a much-deserved win after a dominant performance.

England captain Harry Kane was left, inexplicably, unmarked at the back post to volley in his 29th goal in 29 games this season and seventh in this competition.

It was a frustrating evening for Celtic but one from which they emerge with their hopes of reaching the last 16 still, just, alive ahead of Tuesday's second leg.

Whether you were at Celtic Park or watching the game from elsewhere, we want to hear from you. Give us your thoughts on the game, and the tie, here., external

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Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers: "It's a big goal for us, for our confidence in the game. You saw in the last 25 minutes, once we started to have more aggression in the game, we were much better.

"To get the goal and push like we did was pleasing. We've got one more shot now, next week, to try and claw it back.

"It looked like we got off to a great start. Unfortunately, it was disallowed. We didn't give away too much but I wasn't happy with how passive we were at times.

"The corner [for Harry Kane's goal] was disappointing. One of the world's best strikers shouldn't be left free in the box, that's for sure.

"We had to react. We make the changes and were much better in our pressure at the top end of the pitch. We started to move like we normally do.

"Then we get the goal and everything changes. By the end, Bayern are happy for the final whistle.

"For a lot of our players, it's the first time at this level. This season has been about getting confidence and, after that last 25 minutes, they'll feel a lot better about themselves going into next week.

"It was always going to be a big challenge for us, we were always going to be the underdog in this tie. You see their level, their quality. But for us, we hung in there against a really top side and gave them problems.

"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.

"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.

"You can always lose at this level, especially as you go on in the competition. 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."

Amy Canavan
BBC Sport Scotland

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Celtic's first defeat in the competition this season was a drubbing in Dortmund. A match where they fell behind to a German giant and folded.

But as this campaign has continued, they've grown in quality and character. The latter of those was especially on show here.

Once again they came under intense pressure from feted European side, but this time they didn't buckle.

Maeda flashed a ball across the face after darting in front of Neuer, while Reo Hatate also had a sight of goal, as Rodgers' side attempted to yank themselves back into the tie.

For a few moments, Arne Engels even thought he might have an opportunity from the spot when he was caught by Dayot Upamecano but, after a lengthy VAR wait, that possibility disappeared.

It could have been so very different had Idah shimmied out of the path of Kuhn's strike inside the first minute, but even the start in itself was a sign of progress.

Celtic didn't start scared or respectful - they kicked off with intent.

It's still a mountain to climb in Munich next week, but, they head out with a hint of hope instead of fearing another hiding in Germany.