It was a night of what-ifs at Celtic Park on Wednesday. A 2-1 loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League was the end result but other possibilities could have worked in the Hoops' favour. Instead, the focus now shifts to facing Dundee United at home on Saturday and then the return match in Germany next week.
But those what-ifs will linger in the mind, especially as one of them gets a contrasting set of post-match opinions. The first one is what if Adam Idah had not been offside to allow Nicolas Kuhn’s goal to stand?
Then we can reflect on whether Celtic could have got into the game more in that first half, as they did in the second. It was extremely unlucky but probably the right decision.
Add in whether Greg Taylor could have done more to prevent that Bayern Munich goal just ahead of halftime. Then what if someone marked Harry Kane better to stop his second-half goal? Maybe even what if the referee had correctly spotted two first-half corners he gave as goal-kicks?
Michael Ballack makes huge Celtic penalty claim vs Bayern Munich
The biggest what if though was the possible penalty for a foul on Arne Engles inside the Bayern Munich box. Spanish referee Jesus Gil Manzano was alerted to the situation by a lengthy VAR review.
The VAR team invited him to the pitch side monitor for another look. While that's normally a sign for an on the pitch decision being overturned, Manzano stood his ground and didn't give the penalty kick.
As reported by the Daily Record, Michael Ballack said:
"He clearly stepped on his ankle, so that's actually a foul. If that was in midfield it would certainly be a free kick."
Ex SFA referees Des Roache and Steve Conroy giving The Ref’s View online on X.com disagreed with the ruling and explanation too. As their social media post says they reckon a foul is a foul and that a penalty should have been awarded. That's a huge what if as had Celtic scored it could have changed the game significantly.
In our opinion, that’s a penalty. It doesn’t matter that the defender got the ball first, a foul is a foul. Stomping full on someone’s foot is not a “football motion”. We have seen similar this season being given; if it happens in midfield it is certainly a foul. Opinions welcome https://t.co/UAl0m2HCAp
— The Ref’s View (@TheRefsView) February 13, 2025
But let's be honest, in the end, the better team won. Bayern Munich is crammed with world-class players and could claim a few what-ifs of their own about chances not taken or saves made by Kasper Schmeichel. Brendan Rodgers' players have a good account of themselves overall and competed at this top level. That’s quite an achievement and real progress year on year.