Champions League Celtic v Bayern Munich Wednesday February 12th kick off 8PM TNT sports 2

i think the fact we are a goal behind but still in the tie is a good thing for us we are gonna have to go over there on the front foot and try to attack its our natural game obviously the still be a lot of defending to do but i dont think we displayed anything near our attacking potential so far .need to get peter lawwell in for an inspirational team talk about how much money we can get for a win ,an £11m game he might be able to heat his garden too

 

We've got an entitlement to feel aggrieved after that Bayern result.
Denied an obvious penalty, and touch and go disallowed goal.

We wuz robbed.
Maybe it will motivate the team to get tore into them in Munich.

 

Hope he drops Taylor for return leg

 

We defended pretty well aside from a couple of costly moments. Second goal is really poor. First goal I thought was a tad unlucky. Ball fell nicely for Olise and he hit an outrageous strike.

If its in the league phase of the competition - you might think right a point in this game is valuable and we should sit back more. But in knockout stages realistically we have to win or bare minimum get a draw at home to have any real chance of progression I think.

As I said in another post though, I genuinely dont think Rodgers approached this game to play cautiously. Bayern just did a number on us until they got a 2 goal cushion. We couldnt play out past them and were forced into our own half.

Did well to fight our way back into the tie and keep the scoreline respectable. But you sense Bayern had a couple of extra gears in them if they needed it. And when they went 2 up they took their foot off the gas a bit.

 

I completely agree with this, anytime we have had a massive result beating one of the bigger teams we haven’t dominated the game and been the better team. If xG had been a thing back then I highly doubt we would have had the better of that in many if any of those games.

Those wins were built on being defensively solid and disciplined, giving away very little being clinical with a few chances and getting a little luck go your way whether that’s the bounce of the ball a marginal offside go in our favour or a penalty call. Even within those wins when we did give something away we got away with it.

I believe and it is why it is frustrating to lose that game, that we put out almost the perfect template for a giant killing type result. We were largely disciplined, we were compact and we had a spell in the game where we created a few chances. I know even the manager talked about pressing the game but let’s be realistic no team has been able to really take the game to Bayern this season, yes Villa and Feyenoord for results but take Benfica, far better funded they sat in the full game and got battered by Bayern lost 1-0 I think but it could have been 5 or 6 easily.

I think we played well in that game and even eliminating one of those defensive lapses, been able to put away one of the half chances we had and got a decision going our way or a bit of luck that Idah was just onside instead, I think we get a draw at least if not a 2-1.

In the way modern day football is we aren’t going to turn up and outplay Bayern for the majority of a game. It will be winning a game in the sort of fashion described above and I feel we came pretty close the other night.

 

I’ve watched Bayern a few times this year… they didn’t press or attack us once second half. Was a very unlike them performance domestically and both in Europe this season. They could have 100% stepped it up a few gears in both halves but never.

I said in my post we were brilliant second half. Doesn’t change the tactic that Bayern were happy to sit back and not leave themselves open for counters

 

We were 2 nil down though, by the time we started to come into the game. Thats the issue for me. At 2 nil, Bayern felt it was job done and took their foot off the gas. If they hadnt got the two goals, the entire game would likely have been us penned into our half creating almost nothing, as it had been up until the second goal.

We arent going to dominate these games for sure. But if we are to progress in these knock out ties then we cant afford to lose the home leg and we cant afford to only start getting any purchase when the opposition are two goals up and coasting. Whether theres realistically anything we can do about that against teams of Bayern calibre, Im not sure. Id have like to see us create a bit more when the game was all square ideally.

 

You have to think if we get that penalty, Engels scores with it, because he rarely misses. Different ball game then.
But the Spanish ref was an out and out Bayern lover.

 

I just mean we never have a lot of the game against these teams they are streets ahead of us. Yeah if they didn’t score we would likely have come under more pressure but there would still be that half chance on the counter attack.

Wins against Man Utd 1-0, Milan 2-1 and Barca 2-1 it’s not like we had long spells in those game or loads of chances it’s a few moments. Set pieces often being crucial, so it doesn’t help when the ref gives goal kicks when you do get up the park and it should be corners.

As I mentioned Benfica played this Bayern at home and were literally forced to defend deeper than we did against them the other night for the first half. They are an experienced Euro team with far better resources than us.

Essentially we were never going to do to Bayern what we did to Leipzig and go toe to toe with them. If we tried that they would have racked up a cricket score like Dortmund did.

 

For the return leg, looking at their home form, they've conceded at least 2 goals on four different occasions, 2 against Heidenheim, 2 against Wolfsburg, 3 against Holstein Kiel and 2 against Zagreb, even Slovan Bratislava were extremely unfortunate not to score more than the 1 they did

That's got to inspire confidence, they can be got at and they can be vulnerable defensively, even at home, keeping them out at the other end is the main issue, still think we can do it, not given up hope

 

Would be one of the greatest results in our history if we pulled it off and certainly the best in my lifetime. Excited for the game, you just never know.

 

We are due a big result away from home in Europe.
That's not to say that it'll happen in Munich.....but it's due....that's for sure.

Laws of averages. It's got to happen eventually.

All it takes is for Bayern to have a sub-standatd performance...and for us to pull out one of our best performances of the season. Don't write us off yet!!!