Brendan Rodgers: Celtic are still right in the tie against Bayern Munich

Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers believes his side can take heart from how they fought back against Bayern Munich, and are still right in the play-off tie.

Goals from Michael Olise and Harry Kane had given the German giants a 2-0 lead and command of the two-legged tie but Daizen Maeda scored a 79th-minute header to set up an exciting finish and Celtic had the Bundesliga side on the back foot as they chased an equaliser.

Celtic will need to win against the odds in Munich next week to progress in the competition but acknowledging his side had “one more shot”, Rodgers said they had shown they could pose a threat to their elite opponents.

“It was always going to be a big challenge for us,” the Celtic manager said. “We were always going to be the underdog in this tie.

“You see their level and quality but for us, we hung in there this evening against a really top side and gave them problems.

“We’ll take confidence from that.

“We go over next week to a great stadium and a great pitch. From the last 25 minutes we showed we can play and just have that aggressive mindset.

“We have to defend well and we are still right in the tie.

“There’s only a one-goal difference.

“It’s a big challenge, we know that, but it’s still a possibility.”

The manager shared his view that his side had shown a real resilience when heads could have gone down after the second goal but believes his players are learning at the top level. He pointed to hugely experienced internationals and World Cup winners in the opposition side and said that some of his players were experiencing the Champions League for the first time and still learning to adapt to the competition.

However, he said that the attitude they showed was what he wanted and that the goal was just reward for their positive play.

“I think they’ve shown a spirit in this competition and a mentality that we’re improving and getting better,” Rodgers said.

“Part of that is that you know that you have to suffer at this level and have the ability to come back.

“That’s what made me proud at the end of the game because you can always lose at this level, absolutely, with the quality of the opposition especially as you go on in the competition.

“But you must never be broken. The players weren’t broken. They kept going, kept fighting and they got a reward for that.

“It lets Bayern Munich have a think that they can’t be broken and they won’t roll over and if you don’t press them right then they can play.”