Celtic went toe-to-toe with Bayern Munich all through 180 minutes however simply fell in need of taking the six-time Champions League winners to further time in Bavaria on Tuesday evening.
When the draw was made, not many would have given the Scottish Champions an opportunity; as a substitute, individuals seen Celtic’s possibilities of simply staying within the tie as an achievement.
Nevertheless, Brendan Rogers’ facet had a recreation plan and really practically executed it to perfection. If there may be one factor we’ve learnt from Celtic’s efforts it’s that Bayern are greater than beatable.
With 12 league video games remaining, what can different Bundesliga groups be taught from Celtic to be able to overcome Bayern?
Celtic’s Gameplan
Celtic needed to take in lots of strain all through the second leg, however they might and probably ought to have been main by two video games after the primary 20 minutes.
Celtic lined up in a 4-3-3 formation however, off the ball performed extra of a again 5 with wing-backs. Their positioning was incredible, and so they pissed off Bayern into making errors.
It was right-back Alistar Johnston who had Celtic’s first huge likelihood after bouncing on a mistake from Micheal Olise. Nevertheless, he lacked composure on the final second and failed to check Neuer as he got here racing into the penalty space.
Staying on the best, midfielder and winger duo Arne Engels and Nicolas Kühn additionally offered a menace all evening. Kühn noticed one glorious cross go straight throughout the objective mouth, and one other try cleared off the road.
The previous Bayern academy man lastly received Celtic’s objective within the second half after one other fast counter and as soon as once more pounced on Bayern’s defensive mistake.
From there, Celtic turned extra defensive and have been doing nicely in holding the hosts at arm’s size. Goretzka in all probability felt he might have scored one on the evening, however veteran goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel did his job when referred to as upon.
It was solely within the ultimate seconds of harm time that the Celtic defensive fell asleep. They failed to trace their males following a shot, and Alphonso Davies bundled the ball dwelling to take Bayerm by means of.
For Bundesliga golf equipment watching, this needs to be the blueprint for beating Bayern. Be inflexible in protection however not afraid to press and pounce on a mistake for a fast counter. Many golf equipment in Germany are blessed with tempo up entrance, just like Celtic. Should you play this manner and don’t let Bayern have full management on a regular basis, you possibly can trigger them issues and pressure them into errors.
The Run-in
Bayern has 12 Bundesliga video games remaining, together with matches in opposition to RB Leipzig, VfB Stuttgart, Eintracht Frankfurt, and Borussia Dortmund. Although they’ve an 8-point lead, there are some huge fixtures arising, and Europe simply witnessed that Bayern shouldn’t be the all-fearing staff they’re maybe perceived to be.
GGFN |