Bayern Munich barely edged past Celtic into the next round of the Champions League. After winning at Parkhead, a lot of people would have expected the second leg at the Allianz Arena to be a walk in the park for the Bavarians. It was far from that. In fact, the Hoops were the better team for the majority of the game.
Celtic missed four glorious chances in the first half, as their finishing let them down once again on the big stage. And even then, Bayern Munich had to rely on a late extra-time goal from Alphonso Davies to draw the game and win the tie on aggregate.
It was one of Celtic's best ever away performances in Europe. They should hold their heads high going back to Glasgow.
On the other hand, Bayern Munich fans will be disappointed with what they saw from their side. As reported by Express, Manuel Neuer said after the game:
"It wasn't our best day, but in the end, we deserved to qualify. We have now advanced in the playoffs which is what we set out to do. We know that those weren't our best games."
Manuel Neuer slammed for his comments after Celtic game
Not everybody agreed with Neuer's sentiments after the game though. In fact, Didi Hamann appears to believe that Celtic were the ones who deserved to qualify for the next round of the Champions League. He said:
"If Manuel Neuer said Celtic were not the better team, then he is simply not right. Celtic were the better team in both halves. Over the 90 minutes, only one team tried to play football and they were in green and black. That was Celtic. At Bayern, the responsibility was passed back and forth.
"Bayern were incredibly fortunate because Celtic missed many great chances in the first half. They deserved to qualify in the tie. They played statically, no movement, no joy in playing, no finesse. They had one or two half-chances, but you never had the feeling that they would score a goal."
It is safe to say that Celtic exceeded all expectations that were set for them coming into the tie against Bayern Munich. The fact that a draw away against one of the best teams in world football feels like a disappointment for the Hoops should tell you everything that you need to know about how the two legs went.
Celtic can look back on their missed chances from the first 45 minutes of the game in Germany. Or the penalty shout that was not given in the first leg at Parkhead. But all things considered, they should be very proud.