Celtic endured a narrow defeat against Bayern Munich, as their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League fade away. The Scottish champions looked very lively throughout the game, and were, to an extent, unlucky not to have managed at least a point against the Bavarian giants.
Kingsley Coman’s opener in the first half was cancelled out by an excellent goal from Callum McGregor in the second half. However, just minutes after the equalizer, Javi Martinez scored the telling final goal to seal all three points for Jupp Heynckes’ men.
Here are the Celtic players rated and slated in their loss vs. Bayern.
Craig Gordon (7/10): Made a couple of stunning saves in the second half to keep his side in the contest but overall, the goalkeeper should have done a lot better in keeping out Bayern.
Mikael Lustig (7.5/10): Was solid on the right flank, hardly giving any space away for the likes of James Rodriguez or Kingsley Coman to make use of.
Dedryck Boyata (6.5/10): His terrible defensive error in the first half proved to be quite costly for the Celts. Boyata lacked the temperament to prevail against this strong and mighty Bayern Munich.
Nir Bitton (7/10): Looked very good at times, but then again, he should have done a better job of keeping out Bayern’s offensive strikeforce.
Kieran Tierney (8.5/10): Once again showed just why he’s rated so highly among few of the Europe’s top clubs. The youngster remained defensive sound throughout the game, largely keeping Arjen Robben in his pockets. A very performance from the 20-year-old.
James Forrest (9/10): Had an amazing night, where he helped his team making loads of chances. Forrest was particularly involved in most of Celtic’s offensive gameplay. His astonishing pass through helped Celtic get their equalizer in the second half.
Scott Brown (7.5/10): The captain led by examples with some fierce tackling and uncompromising defensive effort but at the end of the day, the veteran midfielder lacked the steel to keep out the talented Bayern midfielders.
Stuart Armstrong (7.5/10): Looked good on the ball, but was sloppy most of the times. Armstrong arguably missed the game’s biggest chance in the early stages of the game, which eventually proved to be very costly for the Scottish champions.
Callum McGregor (8/10): Was an important cog in the Celtic midfield. McGregor pulled the strings in the middle and helped his team paddle forward with some incisive passes and movements. His goal in the second half brought back some hope but it only proved to be a mere consolation at the end.
Scott Sinclair (6.5/10): Had an awful game, where he didn’t manage to get enough of the ball. Hence, he was taken off early due to his lack of contribution to the team.
Moussa Dembele (8/10): Put in an excellent shift as the lone forward. The talented attacker seemed very willing in chasing down the opposing centre-backs and goalkeeper alike whenever he had the chance. An industrious effort from the 21-year-old.
Subs
Tom Rogic (7/10): Came on for Scott Sinclair around the hour mark, but he too failed to inspire the game even though he was way better than Sinclair.
Leigh Griffiths (NA): Replaced Stuart Armstrong for the final phase of the game as head coach Brendan Rodgers looked to bring in some attacking reinforcement in order to get the second equalizer.
