Brendan Rodgers Spot On Bayern Post-Match Comments

Celtic may have fallen to a 2-1 defeat against Bayern Munich, but Brendan Rodgers believes his side are still in the tie as they head to Germany next week. The Hoops boss praised his players for their resilience and insisted they will travel to the Allianz Arena with no regrets as they look to cause an upset.

“We’ve got one more shot. It’s a new level for a lot of the players. They’ve done absolutely great and now we go to a wonderful arena, fantastic pitch – let’s go and have no regrets and see where it takes us,” Rodgers told RecordSport post-match.

“The game is still in the balance. It’s tight. We’ve shown we can play football and can be a threat so we’re still right in the tie. With their quality and the goals they can score it can be out of sight but that’s not the case and I’m looking forward to it already.”

A Game of Fine Margins

Celtic looked to have made the dream start when Nicolas Kühn fired home inside the first minute, but VAR ruled the goal out for offside against Adam Idah. That decision set the tone for a frustrating first half, where Celtic had just 35% possession and failed to register a shot on target.

Bayern dictated the game and finally broke through on the stroke of half-time when a fortunate ricochet fell to Michael Olise, who curled a stunning effort past Kasper Schmeichel. Rodgers acknowledged the goal was a tough one to take after a disciplined first-half display.

“It looked like we got off to the perfect start with a fantastic goal but sadly it wasn’t given. We had a couple of moments in counter attack but my overriding feeling is that although we didn’t give away much, we were a little bit passive in our pressing and didn’t identify those moments of when to go and you have to sink back a little bit deeper,” Rodgers admitted.

“We still feel without doing so much with the ball that we were stable enough without it and then they get a bit of luck right on half time when the ball ricochets to young Michael and he’s got great quality and finishes.”

Things went from bad to worse just four minutes after the restart, when Celtic switched off at a corner and left Harry Kane unmarked, allowing the English striker to bury Bayern’s second.

“It was about being more aggressive for us and that was our mindset in the second half. I just said to the guys that in our corners we’ve been very good in our corners and everything else but one player you don’t leave unmarked is arguably the best striker in world football and Harry finished really well, 2-0.”

Celtic Fight Back But Controversy Strikes Again

Despite going two goals down, Celtic finally started to impose themselves, with Rodgers introducing Jota and Schlupp in the 64th minute. Then came a controversial moment, as Arne Engels appeared to be fouled inside the box, prompting the VAR team to send the referee to the monitor. But despite a lengthy review, no penalty was given—much to the disbelief of Celtic fans.

Celtic responded in the 79th minute, as substitute Yang produced a brilliant cross for Daizen Maeda to fire home, sparking a frantic final 10 minutes where Bayern were forced onto the back foot.

“We had to make the changes but in the last 25 minutes we pressed the game and were more active at the top end of the pitch and you see what it brought; an aggression and we got the goal and at 2-1 they were hanging on. That’s what we can take from it.”

One More Chance in Munich

Rodgers’ side finished the game strongly, forcing Bayern into time-wasting tactics to see out the result. While the German giants were undoubtedly the better side overall, Celtic’s late surge showed they are capable of causing problems.

Celtic now head to the Allianz Arena next week, knowing they will need a near-perfect performance to overturn the deficit. However, as Rodgers pointed out, the tie is not out of sight. With nothing to lose, Celtic will travel to Munich with belief that they can still produce a special European night.