Bayern loss ‘not what Celtic deserved’ but says Hoops’ ‘European credibility has been restored’

Brendan Rodgers insisted Celtic’s heartbreaking aggregate defeat to Bayern Munich was not what his side deserved.

Celtic were moments away from forcing extra-time at the Allianz Arena after leading through Nicolas Kuhn’s second-half goal which levelled the tie.

But Alfonso Davies scored in the fourth minute of stoppage time to knock the Scottish side out in the cruellest of ways and undo what was a valiant display by the underdogs.

The Celtic boss told Amazon Prime Video: “It was [a suckerpunch], not what the players deserved especially right at the very end.

“They gave so much to the game.

“We didn’t give away too much, I felt our concentration was good and denied them space, and then we had some quality and great moves, and actually had the best chances in the game I felt.

“A real heroic performance, just unfortunate at the end.

“It was just such a cruel way to not even lose the game but to go out of the competition.”

Despite losing on aggregate, their 1-1 draw at Bayern will go down as one of the best in Celtic’s recent European history and Rodgers, who returned for his second spell at the club at the start of last season, believes his side are proving to be competitive in Europe once again.

He added: “I think our European credibility has been restored this season, I think we’d built that up from last year, that’s my takeaway from this season.”

They can leave Munich with their heads held high 💚

What a performance from Celtic 👏#UCLonPrime pic.twitter.com/7jWWAsTOBM

— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) February 18, 2025

McGregor: ‘Cruellest’ night in a Celtic shirt

Captain Callum McGregor said the late heartbreak was tough to take but praised the performance of his team-mates for executing an almost perfect game plan.

He told Prime Video Sport: “Probably one of the cruellest [results in a Celtic jersey], the performance of the players, they gave about everything and pushed a really good Bayern side all of the way.

“Sometimes football’s cruel and you don’t get what you deserve but I have to say I’m so, so proud of the players and the way they played and handled themselves.

“We come off that pitch with no regrets. It’s a real, real sore win but I think we can be proud of ourselves.

“It was set up for us to try and nick the next one as well, and even if we had to go to extra time we fancied ourselves as well.

“I think anybody watching that game of football tonight would see a really good Celtic team.”