Forget the Bayern battering... a Hibs semi is Rodgers’ prize fight this week

IF CELTIC beat Hibs tomorrow at Hampden, and secure a place in the League Cup final, it will round off a week when Brendan Rodgers could still say ‘job done.’

That might not sound quite right – not when the Celtic manager is something of a perfectionist, and, like his players, won’t have enjoyed losing to Bayern Munich in the slightest.

But we have to be realistic and honest; when the Champions League draw was made, everyone knew Celtic’s best hope of progressing in Europe through to 2018 – when faced by PSG and Bayern, two potential winners of the competition outright – was to win the head-to-heads against Anderlecht.

Nothing on that front has changed after Wednesday, despite what was a painful loss to the Germans.

And when I say painful, I don’t mean in the sense of the result. What will have been difficult to take was the goals Celtic conceded, and, how they tried to cope with the pressure exerted by the Bundesliga champions.

There couldn’t have been a worse time to face Bayern, in Munich. After an impressive away win over Anderlecht, Celtic could have been doing with a home game this time around, just to see if they could build on the momentum gained, and to see if there was a ‘bounce’ from the game in Brussels.

As it was, Celtic were back on their travels and any slight advantage was lost.

However, that was minor compared to clashing with a Bayern side back on their ‘A’ game after a ropey start to the season.

They looked buoyant again now that Jupp Heynckes is back at the helm. There was a spring in the step of the Bayern players, a real confidence and an air of superiority which wasn’t apparent while Carlo Ancelotti was in charge.

The manager had changed, so all the pressure would have been tipped back on the players, to see if they were up to it. They responded in a clinical, mechanical fashion which Celtic couldn’t live with at times.

However, Celtic brought on elements of that themselves. I thought that, similar to the first half against PSG, the Celtic players found themselves playing against the reputation of their opponents, rather than what was in front of them. I’m not saying they were starstruck. But at times they maybe gave the Germans just too much space and respect, and stood off them.

I don’t think it’s any coincidence that Patrick Roberts and Scott Sinclair – who played well against PSG in Glasgow – were Celtic’s best players in midweek. Why? To my mind, because they took the game to the Germans.

WHEN Celtic did gain possession on occasions, they just gave the ball straight back to Bayern.

A bit of composure, trying to keep possession for a few minutes, may have given Celtic a toehold in the tie. But it is always easier said than done, particularly when you are facing wave after wave of attack. And the Germans were superbly efficient.

However, Celtic helped to their own downfall by making some elementary mistakes when defending.

Sure, Lewandowski, Muller, Robben and Thiago are all fantastic players. But you don’t

The gulf between the SPFL’s best and the Germans was massive