Our reporter, Ben Banks, reviews a spirited Champions League display by Celtic in Germany that ultimately has eliminated them from the competition.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Celtic's Champions League journey is over, but they have exited Europe's top table in a manner that can only be described as heroic
00:10drawing one each with the Bavarian giants at the Allianz Arena on a night where many feel that Celtic probably could have pulled off an epic European shock that would have lived long in the ages
00:23It was a rampant first half from the hoops, they ran all over Bayern against all expectation, it was expected after a 2-1 first leg defeat in this knockout round playoff that Bayern would take the advantage into the second leg
00:36and control the game, control things comfortably, it was not the case, it was Celtic who had all the chances, hit the bar, goals off the line, all sorts of stuff happening
00:46got in at the half time, probably should have been ahead needing to take those chances at this level but it was a brilliant performance, Bayern were left at 6's and 7's as to what to do
00:56that continued into the second half where Nicolas Koon pounced on a bad error at the back with Dijs and Maida to put the team ahead and it looked like it was destined for extra time which would have been thoroughly deserved
01:07they probably deserved to be a couple goals up by that point and if that was the case going through at the last 16 against all the odds but 94th minute, the last kick of the ball, Alphonso Davies knocking it into the net from close range to break Celtic hearts
01:21a really unfortunate goal to concede that puts them out the tournament when they probably deserved to go through on the night, certainly the better team and it's a credit to Brendan Rodgers and his side for the progress they've made in Europe this season that they can say that after going to the Allianz
01:36Arena, it's been a good campaign overall in Europe for Celtic, they've progressed out of the league phase finishing in the top 24, really capitalising on what the new format can bring for sort of smaller teams with smaller budgets, Celtic a massive fish in Scottish football, the biggest of them all at the minute
01:52but when it comes to Europe it's a different kettle so a very, very impressive European campaign from them considering the level of opposition they came up against
02:01it would have been easy for them to really fold at this level after a 7-1 defeat by Borussia Dortmund earlier in the competition but they seemed to really stabilise and took a lot of confidence from a draw in Atlanta, a top Serie A side and they've built on it from there and then in the end probably could have been ahead in the tie overall rather than just being level and playing for extra time so
02:22lots for Celtic to take from this, they now turn their attention back to the domestic matters, playing Hibs away on Saturday where they'll look to wrap up the Premiership title over the next couple of months and they're also hot favourites for the Scottish Cup which would make it a treble
02:36attention has now turned to next season in terms of Europe and in terms of trying to get back into that league phase for the Champions League and also the summer transfer window, Brendan Rodgers has shown that his side can compete at this level with the current crop of players so now it's up to Dermot Desmond, Peter Lawill, Michael Nicholson and the rest of the board to see do they fully buy into this, do they fully back him with more money, with more signings like Arnie Engels and Ademida in the summer who cost big money
03:02do they go out and push the boat out and really try and cement this Celtic squad as a, the overwhelming best in Scotland but b, also a squad that's very capable of progressing past this knockout round playoff phase which you're unlikely to play a team like Bayern again in this level, in this sort of phase of the competition so I'm interested to see now in the summer how seriously Celtic take their European ambitions