BRENDAN RODGERS is refusing to rule out a historic Celtic triumph in the Allianz Arena this evening.
There isn’t a safety net in sight as the Irishman leads his players onto the Champions League tightrope against Bayern Munich with the Germans leading 2-1 from last week’s first leg play-off.
The Hoops have faced the Bundesliga giants twice before in European competition in Bavaria – and lost on both occasions.
Rodgers saw his team toil for over an hour under the lights in the east end of Glasgow as Vincent Kompany’s club powere to a 2-0 advantage, courtesy of a whizzbang effort from Michael Olise on the stroke of half-time and another from an inexplicably unmarked Harry Kane just four minutes after the turnaround.
EURO STAR…Daizen Maeda is about to be congratulated by Cameron Carter-Vickers after his late goal against Bayern Munich while keeper Manuel Neuer makes a vain appeal for something.
However, the hosts will gather optimism from their performance in the last 25 minutes when Daizen Maeda, with his 22nd goal of the campaign, pulled one back and Alistair Johnston was denied by the lightning reflexes of Manuel Neuer as the keeper turned a rasping drive over the bar.
Looking ahead to the immense challenge of attempting to survive among Europe’s elite, Rodgers said: “Clearly, we won’t be the favourites for the tie, but everything is possible.
“The goal we scored brings a different view of the game. Coming in at 2-1 rather than 2-0 is a big difference.
“When you play two-legged games, it’s important that you come in to the second game with the opportunity and the chance.
“We had to be smart last week and we’ll have to be smart on this occasion, but we have players who can score goals.
“We know we can defend at this level and it’s just about having that courage and bravery to go and play our game.”
Rodgers, speaking to Celtic TV, continued: “It’s a beautiful pitch, the arena is great to play in and we want to leave everything out there on the field.
HEADS I WIN…Alistair Johnston clears from Bayern dangerman Harry Kane.
“We know we’ll have to play really well to come through.
“Anything is possible in the game. Anything can happen and, hopefully, we can produce a performance that gets us the result in the end.”
Remaining upbeat and positive, the team chief added: “You come to this level and you have to play without any fear.
“There are worse things in life that can happen than losing a game of football.
“We want to ensure that when we come in after the game, we’ve given it absolutely everything.
“I look at this game and I’m so glad I’ve got this group of players who have a great mentality and incredible professionalism.
“And if they can go and show that, then we know we’re in with a chance.”
