“It’s rare to experience such an atmosphere and that was special for us,” Manuel Neuer | OneFootball

Despite the defeat, that Daizen Maeda goal still technically keeps Celtic in the tie and with something to play for heading to Munich next week…

Daizen Maeda causing havoc in the Bayern Munich defence. Celtic v Bayern Munich, Champions League play-off, on 12 February 2025 at Celtic Park. Photo Imago.

The Allianz Arena will be a whole different ball-game and if we are to do the unthinkable, then it would require Herculean efforts from all involved with the team.

An Atalanta-esque defensive display combined with a Leipzig at home attack is what we would need and whilst that isn’t likely to happen, it’s not beyond the realms of possibility. Bayern looked incredibly awestruck when we scored and had stepped up the tempo in that last 20 mins or so and that’s the blueprint we need for heading to the second half of this play-off round.

Daizen Maeda caused major issues last night for Bayern

Daizen Maeda caused major issues last night for Bayern and in particular, famous sweeper keeper, Manuel Neuer. On one occasion he managed to nip in ahead of the goalkeeper and send him scrambling, as he tried to prevent Maeda from finishing from a tight angle – which he every nearly did – with the ball he fizzed across the goal not close enough to hit the back of the net.

It will be interesting to see if Neuer feels safe enough next week to adopt this very high position after witnessing the speed of Maeda up close and personal now. If Celtic are to score in Munich this coming Tuesday, it could be from a situation such as this, with Bayern very lax at the back with playing it out to and from the World Cup winner. Neuer spoke after the match last night and was happy at his team’s display but was in awe of the atmosphere and noise in the stadium.

Daizen Maeda of Celtic scores against Bayern Munich in the Champions League match on February 12, 2025. Photo IMAGO.

As reported by Daily Record, he said: “Celtic had a really long unbeaten home run and that’s not easy to achieve. We weren’t always ideally positioned, but overall we deserved to win here. We didn’t buckle under the pressure.

‘It was very loud here’

“We could have been cooler in certain situations, but we remained level-headed for most of the game and played smart football. It was really important not to concede another goal and drive home with a draw. It was very loud here. It’s rare to experience such an atmosphere and that was special for us.”

Paul Gillespie

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