Celtic have been earmarked by the official Champions League podcast as one of the great successes of the new Champions League format.
With Celtic finishing 21st in the Champions League table, a two-legged knockout playoff followed against Bayern Munich, with the Germans progressing after a stoppage-time goal to win the tie. However, Celtic have raised their game against Europe’s elite this season.
Wins over Slovan Bratislava, RB Leipzig, and Young Boys showed the Hoops can win games at Celtic Park in Europe, but away from home, Celtic have arguably impressed even more.
Historically struggling away from Paradise in Europe, a point against Atalanta was a statement that Celtic are no longer making the same mistakes they have over the last decade.
A strong showing against Aston Villa at Villa Park in January, despite a 4-2 defeat, showed that even Villa, who finished 8th in the Champions League table, couldn’t deal with Celtic at times. However, this was taken to a whole new level on Tuesday night at the Allianz, with Bayern Munich outplayed on their home ground.
With Mike Schultz highlighting Celtic for praise after an unbelievable performance at the Allianz.
He said: (Official UEFA Champions League Podcast), “I think that’s been one of the great successes of this new format, actually.
“That you’ve seen a team like Celtic, it’s an enormous football club, of course it is. But in the last few years, they’ve struggled a bit at this level or in the Europa League.
“And actually, because they’ve had a few more games to get into it, they’ve had some home games to really get some points on the board, they’ve really grown into the competition.
“And I think we’ve seen Celtic do well, we mentioned Feyenoord, mentioned PSV, Club Brugge, it’s great to see teams that would get so far and maybe not further, now really have a great run.”
It has been a sign of the positives from the new Champions League format, which was under heavy criticism. Celtic were able to face teams at a more competitive level and Europe’s top clubs, alongside building confidence with wins to go on and secure big results against the likes of Atalanta and Bayern away from home.
Celtic have made their mark on Europe, and it’s ultimately why Brendan Rodgers returned to Paradise – to do so. Rodgers already had incredible success domestically in his first spell, but the real challenge was whether he could bring success to Europe, where Celtic have struggled since reaching the last 16 of the Champions League in 2013 against Juventus.
For Rodgers, it’s a sign of the level of coach he is – truly a world-class manager. However, the Celtic players themselves deserve credit for putting in the hard work and matching the levels Rodgers expects. Even he, on Tuesday night, may have felt that the performance at the Allianz was one of his greatest coaching achievements.
