Be clear, Bayern Munich are lucky to still be in the Champions League. While they had most of the ball last night, Celtic controlled the game. The visitors determined the pattern of play, the pace of the game, where it would be played and the nature of chances each team would create.
That control came within 15 seconds of securing a win on the night and was enough to raise the reputation of Celtic to a level not seen in a decade. Celtic created enough excellent chances to win the tie outright. Bayern progressed as Celtic tired late on, which resulted in them dropping ever-deeper.
There are so many chasms to bridge for Celtic in Europe, but it was only the energy gap which differentiated them from one of Europe’s elite sides. The difference between playing against pedestrian opponents 40 times a season, then being plunged into an Olympic sprint in Europe, remains a challenge.
Brendan Rodgers’ decision to open with Jota and Nicolas Kuhn on the wings setup the treat that was to follow. Jota was inspired. His close control and sheer artistry was unmatched by anyone on the pitch. After an early chance beat the keeper but was clear off the line, Kuhn’s took a while to recover, but when he did, he sat Mauel Neuer on his bum and rolled the ball into the net for the opening goal.
That followed great work by Adam Idah and Daizen Maeda, both of whom were second favourites in their challenges. A winning attitude throughout the Celtic team was evident throughout. The foul on Daizen Maeda in the lead up to the Bayern goal was a mistake by VAR. Had it not been a possible red card, I think it may have been given.
Alistair Johnston was authoritative all night. The Bayern coaches must have thought, ‘Where did they find this guy?’ [More on that at a later date] Jeffrey Schlupp was a big call at left back. The player did not particularly impress me against Raith Rovers 10 days ago. He has made the most of that time to settle into Celtic as he was as imperious as were the rest of his defensive colleagues last night. I even tought Alan Shearer put in a good shift; it was that kind of night.
What is the biggest gap between two towns in Germany? Dortmund to Munich. The growth Celtic have achieved since the game against Borussia is exceptional. We are a proper Champions League side and can look forward with some confidence.
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I can’t wait to face the Huns in Celtic Park next month.
Our Bhoys will surely destroy ” THEMS” IF the Bhoys play the same way as last night v Bayern.
Bring it on…
But firstly, lets pummel the Hibees this Saturday.
HH.
While we should keep the model going, there should always be room for a Sbclupp type player in the squad
Deary me Lubo would have been told to GTF you don’t fit the model !!!
alike to thousands of others, i thought that was a mature and disciplined near total football performance, our best in a long long time.
i despair when people talk about getting the boot in, leaving a message, letting know we are there, be aggresive, all it leads to are fouls and free kick free hits onto our weaknessess.
discipline, controlled, results in no bookings, but bhoy did we compete with athleticism, physicality, speed and accuracy, but also several times the ball goes back the way, like we do often at home, but you can see it is the right ball retaining move rather than squeeze an angled pass which could immediately lead to counter attack.
as to lack of options to bring on, i disagree, mccowan or gregg could have done a job if needed, there will be some tactical know how that brendna and coaches had, that we do not, maybe the extra time conundrum, or penalty selections.
anyways after the high, here is my wee worry.
how to you return to domestic football after the highs of europe ? how do you keep interested in a league that is really already won ? do you really care about the fans obsession of trebles, other than a cup final is a great day out when you win.
keeping them all motivated is the challenge here, ………………..
someone mentioned praise to uefa for the new format.
me too, and like they said.
Getting to the playoff round, we played 7 different opponents. for 10 matches, winning 3, drawing 4, losing 3.
It is a brillaint format to allow experiences to be gained.
The qualifier next season now becomes our biggest ever match, but progress to the league stage and I feel we will no longer see the 5,6,7, goal thrashings away from home.
Stronger , fitter, better for sure
god bless brendnan and the bhoys.
Because the next game is the most important game, one game at a time gives you nights like last night, no-one playing any sport gets anywhere if you don’t build your game, technique fitness understanding stamina, all those contribute to peak performance in whatever arena, and no successful will ignore these things. Working in an envirenment that promotes these essentials constantly is why team building/ club building takes time, look at the mess some clubs get into by throwing money at players rather than getting the club philosophy correct, expensive players are loaned out because they dont or dont want to go along with the demands of meeting these fundamentals.
typos aplenty
I was intruiged to see if all the pot 1/2 sides would progress by beating their play off opponents.
and in turn, could celtic have had that fabled “easier draw” if they had more points in the league phase.
but the reality is, we could have finsished higher and got just as hard a draw.
we could have finished lower and got an easire draw, the dependency offcourse being all thos teams clusterd together with only 3 points of a difference,
it could have went either way.
Feyenoord, brugge and Benfica supporters have to feel good today, and even give themselves a chance for the last 8.Lille aswell.
its turning into a great competition.
a german colleague has sent me an x saying that munich were never losing that game as they are going to the final.
not just tims that do conspricy thoery.
I didn’t think that we were capable of such an assured performance against a blue chip club,away from home.
I feel a real sense of pride and hope going forward.
Brendan has them believing that they belong in the CL.
TT
As much as I was happy with the Atalanta performance and result , there was a nagging regret about our almost total lack of attacking threat .
Last night was a much more complete performance , very solid at the back and , for all their possession , we looked more dangerous than Bayern .
From last thread
——
BIG JIMMY on 19TH FEBRUARY 2025 10:46 AM
the long wait is over on 19th February 2025 9:57 am
Lordy,
Has anyone else seen the clip circulating of the scenes at Jimmy Calderwood’s funeral?
………….
NO, I do know that his Hearse passed by Ipox.
Was there some kind of Orange Fest ?
—————
Not as such.
Half the crowd walked out in the middle of the crematorium service ( apparently because their mum , his ex-wife , wasn’t given as much attention/ mention as his new partner ).
Lots of very undignified behaviour and language being traded by both sides on the way out that , err … , one wouldn’t normally expect to hear at a funeral service.
I’ve never seen the like. I doubt many will have.
just one little bugbear for me, and I know it is tv driven but the scheduling of home game wednesday followed by the away game on the next tuesday is unfair imho.
the long wait is over on 19th February 2025 3:22 pm
From last thread
………..
Cheers mate I saw the story about his son and others walking out….or should that be ” Walking Away” ?
LOL.
HH.
I wonder how some are looking at the Bruges result now….
I see some of the GB were sorted out inside the stadium last night
“!!Bada Bing!! on 19th February 2025 3:47 pm
I see some of the GB were sorted out inside the stadium last night”
What do you mean `sorted out`, Bada?
Bada
I asked the same last night, never got any replies. Who sorted them internal discipline?
A so called ” EXPLANATION” as to WHY the VAR Mob didnt NOT get involved after Bayerns Goal. It still does NOT explain why the Ref failed to stop the game after Diazen had a head knock ?
,,,,,,,,,
“Fans have been asking why VAR didn’t go back to check the Maeda foul to see if the goal had been disallowed. But IFAB laws clear that one up, as the incident didn’t fall within the attacking phase of play for the goal. These are determined by VAR officials, and while Bayern did launch an attack immediately after the incident, which occurred with 92:29 on the clock, it didn’t directly lead to Davies’ goal” ,
Celtic have made £38.22m from this season’s Champions League even before taking into account ticket sales and other commercial business. (The Herald)
Boondock saint on 19th February 2025 1:25 pm.
I’d like to add to your excellent piece.
Capt McGregor potrays all that is sporting and honurable about our club. His demeanor whilst being interviewed is humble and helpful.
On the pitch he works tirelessly for his teammates. In someways he reminds me of the Maestro.
We are lucky to have him.
Need to try and keep Schlupp, out of contract in summer, will want a big wage,but worth it for a couple of seasons, can play a few different positions, still getting his fitness up,but he had a good 2nd half last night
!!Bada Bing!! on 19th February 2025 3:47 pm
I see some of the GB were sorted out inside the stadium last night
—————-
so some bhoy gets battered a few rapid and within a minute its stopped by the polis, hardly a sorted out episode.
maybe he tried to light a flare, but i couldnt take it seriously once guy in a green flashing cowboy hat gets involved.
he alonew could get us fined by uefa.
https://x.com/ProudScot76/status/1892143094449012822?s=08
bada
Thanks for the link.
To my eyes , around four people were `involved`. I don`t think that can fairly be classed as `The Green Brigade.`
Mind when you used to go to Parkhead up the Celtic end, and a massive big circle suddenly opened up bottles clanking, supporters scrambling and falling over themselves……..GYT were setting about the Parkheid Border
Hoopy Days CSC
Big Jimmy on 19th February 2025 4:00 pm
That doesn’t make sense to me . If the ref had blown up when he should have , there wouldn’t have been a further attacking phase of play . Something stinks .
i hate to talk sevco on this day, but their CEO put out an interview today.
If ever a guy looked misplace for a job role, jeese oh.
And really funnily they talk about the hurt of the QP game, by showing the QP players celebrating.
An update on his football review could be summed up by
WE ARE SHITE AND WE KNOW WE ARE.
I loved the north curve bhoys singing maeda to this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_JFLb1IItM last Saturday.
If only he’d put that header in during the second half
How did he get in front of the defender and how the f did engels pick the cross out ?
From a guy who was there,the GB were in the front rows,got dug up re Club fines
I received the following statement from Dumbarton FC:
Dumbarton Football Club are disappointed to note that despite previous warnings regarding anti-social behaviour and the use of pyrotechnics, a small element of our support has chosen to ignore these culminating in several pyros being sent off inside and outside the ground at the match against Montrose on Saturday.
Furthermore, we are aware that they were involved with anti-social behaviour in the town centre before the match.
A number of fans responsible for the incident were moved to the Community Suite awaiting arrival of guardians and police, and at the same time we witnessed several fans leaving and some having medical attention for respiratory problems.
The club over many years has engaged in regular conversations and meetings with this group but apparently they have confused this as permission to pursue and develop their group further. Unfortunately their behaviour has now become detrimental to the reputation of the club.
As a result of the anti-social behaviour witnessed on Saturday, the club has made the decision that, for the remainder of the season, all under-16’s will not be permitted entry to the stadium unless they are accompanied by a relative/carer who is 18 or over and will be responsible for their behaviour whilst on the premises. This applies for both home and away supporters.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may present to the majority of our supporters, but hopefully you will recognise why such a decision is required.
The club will also be reviewing the situation and decide if this measure will continue next season or if a fairer system could be introduced for any under-16 season ticket holders.
The bitter hatred of Celtic on BBC Scotland website, is an utter disgrace
My big hope before the game last night that we would get a performance and by golly we got a wonderful performance. For me, Celtic had to score the winner in normal time after Munich had equalised because we were running low in energy levels.
The Celtic back four and Kasper were immense last night especially Schlupp an unknown who did a terrific policing job on Olisi , Munich’s big dangerman.
Our attack played some terrific football and should have had an early goal with all those chances. Interesting that Adam Idah who had scored five goals in his previous five matches was on the bench but did well when introduced playing a big part in Celtic’s goal and in defence.
Paulo and Jamsie were badly missed off a weakened bench, we are in need of reinforcements.
Jota looks like he’s never been away from Celtic Park and as for that man Maeda, what’s left to add further to his brilliance.
Sevco bring out the begging bowl to stay solvent
European football refreshes the parts that domestic football cannot.
Our reputation, our credentials our profile and our desirability were all enhanced tremendously
We belong. And that mentally in my opinion was the crucial factor.
For too long we have had a negative attitude regarding European football.
Turning a negative into a positive was no mean feat.
In Brendan we Trust.
San Francisco 49ers in takeover talks with Sevco
Are they better than the Dallas Cowboys?
BB @ 4:10pm.
How about pulling that link?
Twit who twit it is a bitter staunch type trying to stir up hate.
He knows no one is listening to him in Scotland anymore .. hence the Birmingham hook.
I watched the video.
From where I’m sitting?
… a poor guy at the game suffered a serious muscle spasm in his right rotator cuff …
… So rapidly hyperextended his right arm down the way several times in quick succession to avoid cramping ….
… at which point a guy next to him realised such an action could cause him to lose his balance …
… so helpfully grabbed him to prevent him falling over.
Celtic fans are kind that way.
Easy to see how Feynoord put three goals past them in Holland. They took their chances which we didn’t against a shaky Munich defence. Great result for them against Milan. Brugge also proved that our result against them was good after their performance in Italy last night. Great for the smaller leagues.