Didi Hamann reckons it’s near enough Mission Impossible for Celtic to win and put Bayern Munich out of the Champions League tonight…
The Bhoys are 2-1 behind in the tie from the first-leg at Celtic Park and have to find away to score two goals more than the Bundesliga champions without a reply, to progress to the Last-16.
Bayern has a magnificent record at home
It would be a match for the ages if Celtic were to do that, but even those who are most optimistic about their club, know that Brendan Rodgers men are highly unlikely to reach the Round of 16 this year. Losing at home to the Germans was really the part that has made the idea of progession all the more improbable, with Vincent Kompany’s club holding a magnificent record at home in European football.
Odds are well stacked against Celtic
And former Germany international, Hamann, believes the odds are well stacked against Brendan Rodgers and his side.
“There’s always a chance that a player is sent off in the first 10 minutes and Celtic might get a penalty, but obviously to get a penalty you have to get into Bayern’s box, which I don’t think they managed for probably the first 60 minutes at Parkhead,” he said.
‘There’s always a chance, but it’ll be mighty tough’
“Yeah, there’s always a chance, but it’ll be mighty tough. If they nicked another goal towards the end, which they had a couple of chances to do in the first leg, then maybe. There’s always a chance but I think it’s almost impossible,” he said to Prime Casino.
Whilst the ex-Liverpool man is sure Bayern will progress, he’s also convinced that the biggest club in his homeland will not destroy the Bhoys, similarly to the way in which their rivals Borussia Dortmund did back in October.
The one thing in Celtic’s favour is Bayern Munich’s not playing well
“The one thing in their (Celtic’s) favour is Bayern Munich’s not playing well,” he continued. “They were absolutely bullied by Leverkusen on Saturday evening. They had the first shot on goal, which was blocked on 74 minutes. That was from a very tight angle from Kane from 15 yards.
“They had two shots in the whole game. The keeper didn’t have a save to make. So, Munich’s not playing well. That’s in their favour. I’ll never forget when they lost the game 7-1 in Dortmund, Brendan Rodgers was asked, what did you make of the game.
‘A huge vote of confidence in his team’
He said, oh, it’s gone. You know, we can’t change it and he said, I’d like to play these guys at Parkhead. And I thought there was a huge vote of confidence in his team.”
He said: “Obviously, they had the home game. They failed to beat Munich, but he’s got the utmost confidence in his teams. We know how he works, and he will tell his players, we’ve got a chance.
“And as I said, Munich is not playing well. They’re always capable of scoring four or five goals, but the way they’re going at the moment, I don’t think they’ve got seven goals in them or even five.
‘Whether you lose 1-0 or 5, it doesn’t really matter’
“So that’s one thing in Celtic’s favour. But obviously, if you’re 2-0 down at half-time, then you have to think about whether it make sense to still attack, maybe go home with a two or three-nil loss. Whether you lose 1-0 or 5, it doesn’t really matter. But when you realise that you haven’t got a chance to progress and maybe it makes sense for the next few weeks as well to not get hit for five or six.”
Paul Gillespie
