Celtic face a mountain to climb this week, and then the next one, when they will take on Bayern Munich over two legs in the knockout phase of the Champions League. It is one of the toughest tests in European football for sure and it is no surprise that a lot of people are already counting the Hoops out.
Celtic do not have happy memories from their last trip to Germany. Earlier this season, they lost 7-1 to Borussia Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park. A performance like that and it could be even worse against Bayern Munich, who are comfortably atop the Bundesliga right now.
Celtic have shown a lot of improvement since that horror display against Borussia Dortmund though. They kept a clean sheet away against Atlanta and also Dinamo Zagreb.
The Hoops did concede four goals away at Aston Villa. But by then, qualification to the knockout phase had already been secured.
Manchester United legend Paul Scholes makes superb Celtic claim
Manchester United legend Paul Scholes seems to have noticed the improvement in Celtic when it comes to the defensive side of things. As reported by 67 Hail Hail, he said while speaking on The Overlap:
"When I think of Celtic, the Champions League and European competitions, I think they can beat anybody at home. Not a problem.
“But they always got beat away. It seems a bit like they have got a bit more solid away from home. Would that be right?!"
Of course, Scholes will know very well what Celtic are capable of at Parkhead. He was on the losing end when the Hoops won 1-0 against Manchester United back in the 2006/07 season.
Celtic will need to make the most of their home leg against Bayern Munich this time around if they are to have any hope of making it into the next round of the Champions League. If they can do that, then it will create pressure on the Bavarians to deliver in the second leg and that is never an easy task, especially if the Hoops can make it difficult.