Brendan Rodgers insisted that Celtic’s heartbreaking darling defeat against Bayern Munich was not what his team deserved.
Celtic was a few moments to force extensions to the Allianz Arena after having led through the goal of Nicolas Kuhn in the second half which led equality.
But Alfonso Davies scored at the fourth minute of the stop time to knock out the Scottish side in the most cruel manner and cancel what was a valiant display of outsiders.
The Celtic boss said to Amazon Prime Video: “It was [a suckerpunch]Not what the players deserved especially at the very end.
“They gave so many things to the match.
“We did not give too much, I felt that our concentration was good and had refused them space, then we had quality and great movements, and we actually had the best chances that I felt.
“A real heroic performance, just unhappy at the end.
“It was just such a cruel way not to lose the match but to get out of the competition.”
Despite the loss of the whole, their 1-1 draw in Bayern will be one of the best in recent European history of Celtic and Rodgers, who returned for his second spell at the club at the start of last season, thinks May his team prove to be competitive again in Europe.
He added: “I think our European credibility has been restored this season, I think we have built it compared to last year, this is my point of view of this season.”
They can leave Munich, head, highly 💚 💚
What Celtic’s performance 👏#Uclonprime pic.twitter.com/7jwwastobm
– Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) February 18, 2025
McGregor: Night “Cruellest” in a Celtic shirt
Captain Callum McGregor said the late Heartbreak was difficult to take, but praised the performance of his teammates for having executed an almost perfect match plan.
He told Prime Video Sport: “Probably one of the most cruel [results in a Celtic jersey]The performance of the players, they gave everything and pushed a very good side of Bayern all the way.
“Sometimes football is cruel and you don’t get what you deserve, but I must say that I am so, so proud of the players and how they played and manipulated.
“We come out of this land without regret. It is a real painful victory, but I think we can be proud of ourselves.
“We were put in place to try to nick also, and even if we had to go to more time, we also imagined.
“I think anyone watching this football game this evening would see a very good Celtic team.”
