Celtic won when the Champions League changed – now they face a familiar challenge The Scottish champions play their first knockout tie in Europe’s top competition since 2012 when they welcome Bayern Munich to Celtic Park – where Brendan Rodgers’ side will have to prove their presence isn’t just to fill the quota.
But when Celtic welcome Bayern Munich to Glasgow for a play-off, 12 years to the day since the last time they hosted a Champions League knockout tie, there will be no doubting the significance of the occasion.
That the biggest match of Bayern’s season so far comes at the weekend, in between the two legs of their Champions League, may be a further sign of encouragement for Celtic.
Any murmurings of discontent around Kompany’s debut season in Bavaria have come following the Champions League defeats to Aston Villa, Barcelona and Feyenoord; encouragingly for Celtic, they all came away from home.
They responded well, earning a decent point away to an Atalanta side who troubled Barcelona and Real Madrid, but the big games against the biggest names have often exposed the wide gap that Celtic themselves enjoy at home.
