TIERNEY LET DOWN BY DUNCES IN DEFENCE

A NEW six-year contract is the latest item pasted into Kieran Tierney’s Celtic scrapbook. Its pages will surely be crammed with all manner of achievements by the time any renewal is required. Tierney’s commitment until 2023 provided the ideal fillip for the Parkhead club ahead of welcoming the might of Bayern Munich. Not least because it warded off ever-increasing interest from England’s leading clubs. The length of the deal demands any interested party either thinks again — or adds a good few million on to whatever price they first had in mind. No one could dispute the business sense. Clearly, though, the 20-year-old is not primarily motivated by money. He wants memories to cherish. To live the dream of supporter-turnedplayer in the most glorious manner possible. A Parkhead slaying of one of Europe’s big beasts will surely be very high on his list. And last night, for a few cacophonous second-half minutes, he must have felt the opportunity was at hand. Famously a ball-boy when Barcelona were overcome back in 2012, Tierney was instrumental in dragging Bayern to the brink on a night of decibels and sporadic defiance inside Celtic Park. That it all ended in yet another home defeat must have pained the left-back as much as anyone. Not that Tierney could be considered culpable. Not at all. This was another smart, strong performance against high-quality opposition. Another marker that he can develop into a truly exceptional asset. Tierney’s individual display will be one consolation for Brendan Rodgers when he picks over the footage of a game that has left Europa League football as the only post-Christmas option. Tierney will be there if that aim is achieved. This week’s events have surely removed any doubt about his immediate future. Indeed, you get the impression contract negotiations tend not to be overly protracted where the Wishaw boy is concerned. Naturally for a player whose market value is measured in eight figures, he has an experienced agent to look after his affairs. Even so, the client instructions are likely limited to something along the lines of ‘where do I sign?’. Leaving Celtic doesn’t even seem to cross his mind. Not yet, anyway. The Parkhead public are thankful for that devotion. Tierney was serenaded by the Green Brigade prior to kick-off, the first of many times the chant would be aired. Outside, scarves bearing his name were

for sale alongside half-and-half numbers cashing in on the presence of a sizeable influx from Bavaria Tierney is rightly viewed as a key actor on Celtic’s biggest stage He didn’t take long to show why With the game still in its infancy, Tierney sought to make his presence felt Neatly nicking the ball away from two Bayern players, he thundered into a clean, sliding challenge on Jerome Boateng that sent possession speeding towards James Forrest Stuart Armstrong couldn’t quite convert the winger’s cross, but Parkhead echoed its approval of the attacking intent shown Tierney had helped set a tone Pre-match, much of the talk centred on Bayern’s absences Robert Lewandowski had been left at home to recover from a thigh strain ahead of the weekend Bundesliga meeting with Borussia Dortmund Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, chief executive of the German superpower, suggested Lewandowski might have been risked had they been facing another member of Europe’s moneyed aristocracy Coach Jupp Heynckes denied any slight in the Polish striker’s absence Whatever the truth, with Thomas Muller and Franck Ribery also out injured, Bayern were undoubtedly missing some attacking A-listers Not that Tierney’s task was made any easier His flank was still patrolled by Arjen Robben Champions Leaguewinning goalscorer Arjen Robben World Cup finalist Arjen Robben A bona-fide modern great The veteran Dutchman — captain on his 101st appearance in Europe’s elite tournament — smiled broadly as he felt sheets of noise crash down from the stands But Robben goes about his own work in a more cerebral manner He resembles a professor of geometry Angles are picked to receive the ball, to move across, to interchange with colleagues So many of the little possession triangles pieced together on the Bayern right had Robben at their apex Tierney had to keep track of them all This was another educational experience And one he handled well How dispiriting, then, that the 22nd-minute goal Celtic did concede was worthy of dunce caps being distributed to some of his colleagues There should have been minimal danger from a long, straight ball down the middle — a tactic more Scottish Championship than Champions League Yet it speared through the centre of the home defence Dedryck Boyata pulled back from an opportunity to plant his head on it, instead letting the ball bounce as he back-tracked Excuses were thin on the ground, but perhaps Boyata was aware of Craig Gordon’s thundering charge forward If so, it proved a forlorn hope The goalkeeper couldn’t get there quickly enough, with Kingsley Coman skipping away from him at the edge of the penalty area The young French winger, so impressive when the sides met a fortnight ago, showed admirable composure to roll his shot into the net It was a desperate way to concede at this level One that would have dismayed Rodgers But Tierney helped to lift Celtic spirits in a strong finish to the half A 47-53 percentage split of possession and five attempts apiece told of a far closer contest than at the Allianz Arena The Scotland man remained on the front foot in the second period While the belief supplied by Callum McGregor’s equaliser only lasted three minutes, the coming six years will surely provide Tierney with other chances to claim a prized scalp