Celtic put in one of their best performances in Europe in recent memory. We have seen the Hoops win against the likes of FC Barcelona and Manchester United, but in their own backyard. This time around, the Bhoys went to the Allianz Arena and were seconds away from finishing 1-0 after 90 minutes and taking the game into extra-time.
This is the same Allianz Arena where clubs like FC Barcelona and Arsenal have been on the receiving end of one-sided defeats. So, Celtic deserve all the credit in the world.
In fact, one could argue that Celtic should have been the ones going through. They missed a number of glorious opportunities in the first half before finally finding the opener in the second through Nicolas Kuhn. Also, one cannot overlook the penalty that they did not receive at Parkhead when Dayot Upamecano appeared to step on Arne Engels' foot. Then, there was a possible foul on Daizen Maeda in the build-up to Bayern Munich's late goal at the Allianz Arena.
Many fans might have been left pleasantly surprised by how well Celtic did away in Germany not Leon Goretzka. As reported by Bayern Munich's official website, the midfielder said:
"I don’t know if it was that surprising when you look at the first leg. We played against a really top team. Of course, we could have made it a bit easier on ourselves, had we not conceded that goal. But these three games over the last six days have simply been about getting the results and we’ve done that. So, for that reason, we’re very happy."
Bayern Munich's Leon Goretzka makes classy Celtic claim
That is high praise coming from one of the top midfielders in the world. And it would be safe to say that Celtic have earned it.
This Champions League campaign is now over for Celtic though and it was one for the books. The club certainly showed a lot of progress over its course.
Just look at where they were earlier in the campaign. On their last trip to Germany, they lost 7-1 to Borussia Dortmund. On this one, they were seconds away from winning against Bayern Munich and perhaps should have as well. That is progress.