This week marked the start of the UEFA Champions League’s highly anticipated Round of 32, with an emotional match at Celtic Park providing excellent entertainment.
European nights at Celtic are always full of passion, with the electric atmosphere providing Brendan Rodgers’ side with the belief that they could potentially snatch an unlikely result against Vincent Kompany’s Bayern Münich.
The arrival of one of Europe’s elite meant that the Bhoys knew they had to remain compact and limit the attacking threat of the Bundesliga leaders, ensuring a tasty affair when they travel to the Allianz next week.
It ultimately wasn’t to be for Celtic, with Michael Olise and Harry Kane firing the Bavarian side to a comfortable 2-0 lead either side of the half-time interval.
But Daizen Maeda’s second-half goal may have just injected further life into the tie, with Celtic emerging at just a one-goal deficit after a 2-1 final scoreline.
This opening leg provided numerous tactical narratives that must be addressed and analysed before the two sides meet again in Münich.
Whilst Celtic will rue the lapses in defensive concentration that allowed Bayern to take the lead, Vincent Kompany will be left wondering how he could set up his team next time to take advantage of some apparent issues with Celtic’s out-of-possession structure.
Our tactical analysis will highlight some of the issues that both teams faced regarding their ability to create impactful attacking sequences while also pinpointing some crucial defensive flaws that should be tweaked.
Celtic Vs Bayern Munich Lineups & Formations
Brendan Rodgers set the home side up in their 4-3-3 system, clearly recognising that Celtic would need to be defensively resilient and minimise the frequency of attacking opportunities for the away team.
Kasper Schmeichel lined up as Celtic’s experienced shot-stopper, protected by a back four of majority North American talent in Alistair Johnston, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Auston Trusty, with Greg Taylor completing the backline.
