Tonight will tell us if Celtic learned anything from Dortmund humbling and if this is the day that we win away…
Tonight sees us take on Bayern at the Allianz Arena in the second leg of the Champions League play off, two goals to one down, after suffering defeat at Celtic Park last Wednesday night.
There’s no denying Celtic face a mammoth task if we are to reach the last 16, and while we harbour some hope, it’s going to be very difficult indeed to say the very least. That’s not a negative attitude, it’s just a fact. We are not a fan base shrouded in delusion, so we know the nigh impossible task facing our team tonight.
Do ourselves proud by putting up a fine display
That doesn’t mean we can’t go over there and do ourselves proud by putting up a fine display, and maybe even cause an upset. Thousands of supporters wouldn’t be travelling if they thought otherwise, or on second thoughts, maybe they would.
What we can ill afford to do though is produce the same sort of performance and self doubt we displayed on our last trip to Germany back in September when we were humbled by Dortmund. By the end of proceedings tonight we will learn if the players have grown and improved as a side since that painful experience, where incidentally the Celtic support stayed with the team throughout and afterwards in what was the darkest moment of the season.
An Atalanta style defensive performance needed
To be fair to the players they showed they did in some way improve on their experience by holding a talented Atalanta side to a goalless draw in Italy, and despite the 2-4 scoreline they did reasonably well against a decent Aston Villa side, especially when you consider the lack of squad depth for that game and the loss of Kyogo just days before the game.
But taking on the might of Bayern is a totally different prospect. They are a genuine force in the World of football, and pitting our wits against them in the famous Allianz Arena will test our talent and character to the full. On the opening night of the Champions League this season Celtic scored FIVE at home to Slovan Bratislava, a result that put is in second place in the overall group behind only tonight’s opponents who had scored NINE at the Allianz Arena against Dinamo Zagreb.
Nothing is impossible in football
Can we do this? Of course we can as nothing is impossible in football. Let’s just hope and pray that no matter the result, we take a positive outcome from the game and are competitive throughout the game.
COYBIG!
Just an Ordinary Bhoy
