The Champions League draw took place on Friday and Celtic fans would have watched on thinking ‘what if’.
If anyone wants to know, Bayern Munich were handed a tricky round of 16 draw and they will face fellow German side, Bayer Leverkusen.
It’s going to be interesting to see how Vincent Kompany’s side fair over those two matches, as well as further on in the tournament, that’s if they reach the quarter-finals and beyond.
That’s because many feel Bayern were lucky they beat Celtic and they were probably lucky not to have been 3-0 down inside the opening 45 minutes of the second leg.
Brendan Rodgers will be kicking himself, in the sense that, if you take away that opening hour at Celtic Park, then it was the Hoops who were the better side and not many expected that.
Former World Cup winner with France, Frank Leboeuf, wanted to express that when talking about Celtic’s Champions League exit.
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Celtic told they will have ‘lots of regrets’ over Champions League exit
After Daizen Maeda went up top after an hour of the first leg, everything changed and the champions of Scotland looked and played far better.
Frank Leboeuf says Bayern looked ‘very average’, especially at the back, and that means Celtic will have ‘lots of regrets’ because they should have progressed, as he told ESPN.
The former Chelsea defender added how he watched a ‘great’ Celtic team that just couldn’t get over the line.
“It’s very bad, what Kim does (for Celtic’s goal) is crazy,” said Leboeuf. “He doesn’t need to tackle. He doesn’t need to slide. Just needs to go on his right side and counter-attack, and then there is no way Kuhn can compete with him.
“On top of it, when they have the ball, not only Kim and Upamecano, but the entire team, they play in one gear and they don’t pace-up in any cases. It has been like that for 90 minutes, in contrary of Celtic.
“Celtic must have lots of regrets, especially from the first game because, what I saw in Munich, I saw a great Celtic team and a very average Bayern Munich team.”
No excuses for Celtic and Brendan Rodgers now
From the win over RB Leipzig, the clean sheet in Italy to that brave performance in Munich, they are all examples of how far this team has come in Europe’s elite competition.
Added to the fact that, this revamped Champions League format, has worked in Celtic’s favour and there are now no excuses for Rodgers and Co.
Unfortunately, Celtic have to go through the pain of qualifiers for next season, but they should seal their place and look for those playoffs again.
The squad will be much stronger next season and, hopefully, the club won’t be in a situation where key players are leaving in January and aren’t being replaced.
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