Celtic will travel to Germany hoping to reach the Champions League last 16, but it will be challenging. Daizen Maeda’s goal at Celtic Park to reduce the lead to 2-1 has preserved their play-off against Bayern Munich alive, although they have not won away from home in Europe since 2021. Celtic’s sole group-stage loss was to Borussia Dortmund, who scored early and won 7-1.
Their development was evident against Bayern. They showed resilience under duress, and Adam Idah’s offside call when Nicolas Kuhn scored in the first minute could have changed the result.
After his ban was reduced, Maeda was always going to start against Bayern, but Brendan Rodgers had to decide whether to start Jota and play Maeda in the midfield or Idah up front. Jota’s lack of minutes kept him on the bench after Idah scored twice at Aston Villa in their last Champions League match. Maeda switching to center after the Portuguese winger in transformed the game.
The Japan international headed in a critical goal, and Rodgers may regret not starting that way.
