Chris Sutton has given his verdict on Celtic’s performance against Bayern Munich, praising their late surge but admitting they played with a bit of fear in the first half.
The former Hoops striker and current Sky Sports pundit took to social media after the 2-1 defeat at Celtic Park, acknowledging the team’s resilience but pointing out their slow start.
Sutton wrote on X: “Celtic first half played with a bit of fear. After Bayern Munich got the second, Celtic played with the desired bravery and kept fighting. Tremendous finish to the game. Plenty of desire and resilience and more belief in the final third. It’ll be tough in Munich mind.”
A Tale of Two Halves
Celtic struggled to lay a glove on Bayern early on, registering just 35% possession in the first half and failing to record a shot on target after Kühn’s early goal was ruled out for offside by VAR. Bayern controlled proceedings and eventually found a breakthrough on the stroke of halftime through Michael Olise, capitalising on some slack defending to curl in a stunning opener.
Sutton’s criticism of Celtic’s fearful first-half approach reflects the cautious way the team played, rarely threatening in attack. That changed after Harry Kane doubled Bayern’s lead in the 49th minute, as Brendan Rodgers’ side responded with more belief going forward.
The introduction of Jota and Schlupp in the 64th minute gave Celtic fresh energy, and the Hoops were handed a lifeline when Yang—who had just come on—delivered a brilliant ball for Daizen Maeda to fire home in the 79th minute.
Belief for the Second Leg?
The final stages saw Celtic pressing Bayern back, forcing the German side into some time-wasting tactics to see out the result. Sutton’s comments reflected the shift in approach, with Celtic finally playing with more aggression and conviction in the final third.
Despite the positive finish, he acknowledged the huge task ahead in the second leg at the Allianz Arena, where Bayern will be heavy favourites to progress. Rodgers and his players will take encouragement from their late rally, but as Sutton put it, “It’ll be tough in Munich mind.”
I disagree. Chris is normally quite accurate. But I feel he is off the mark this time.
Celtic were respectful of one of the five best European clubs in the past thirty five or forty years!
They are up there with their track record for a reason. There’s nothing wrong with showing a top level opponent some respect! Just not too much.
There was a huge gulf in class between the two teams with Bayern running riot in midfield and attack for most of the game. The movement and skill when attacking should be what Celtic aspire to be, not the slow moving back passing game we served up. If we are honest not one Celtic player would get in the Bayern team.