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Brendan Rodgers urges Celtic to play 'without fear', Harry Kane a doubt for Bayern

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers is hoping for a special night in Munich
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers is hoping for a special night in Munich

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has urged his team to play without fear and have no regrets against Bayern Munich with the hosts set to be without key striker Harry Kane.

Rodgers' side have travelled to Germany 2-1 down in the Champions League knockout phase play-off but Daizen Maeda’s late goal at Parkhead has given the Hoops fans a glimmer of hop before Tuesday’s second leg.

Celtic are in the knockout rounds for the first time in 12 years and Rodgers feels the pressure is off ahead of their second leg at the Allianz Arena.

Rodgers said: "It is a challenge at this level. But it’s something that we want to embrace, that challenge.

"We’ve done very well to get to this point. When you get to this point, you want to play top-level teams. This is a team that has world-class players.

"I think it’s just spelling out that you come to this level and you have to play without any fear.

"I think there’s worse things in life that can happen than losing a game of football. So for us, we want to ensure that when we come in after the game, if we don’t go through, we’ve given it absolutely everything.

"I look at this game and I’m so glad I have this group of players that have a great mentality and incredible professionalism and they can go and show that.

"Then we know that we’re in with a chance as long as you can take that opportunity to give your very, very best. The regret is always if you don’t, you just turn up too late for the game.

"So there’s no second chance. We’ve got the one opportunity.

"I see it as a wonderful opportunity. I know that even if we go out after this game, this has been a great adventure for us this season and we’ve shown progress at this level. That’s what we wanted to do. We wanted to make sure that we have that respectability."

Rodgers believes Celtic have learned major lessons from their 7-1 defeat by Borussia Dortmund in match day two.

"In the Dortmund game, we chased the game," Rodgers said. "We had scored early on and the lessons were from that. Our plan was to be stable and steady and compact.

"I think that’s been the big learning for us from that game. You’re not tight, you’re not stable, you’re not compact, you’re not concentrated and you leave space for world-class players.

"It’s the mark of the group. We’re a humble group. We came away and had some really good performances after that."

Adam Idah may miss out for Daizen Maeda

Rodgers’ main dilemma appears to be whether to start Maeda or Ireland’s Adam Idah through the middle after the Japanese striker helped change the game with his pressing when he moved inside during the first leg.

That could mean Jota starting his third game since returning to Celtic and Rodgers would be happy to start with the Portuguese winger.

"Yes, if we decide that’s what we need to do," he said.

Meanwhile, Kane sat out training on Monday afternoon and is a fitness doubt for the game.

Asked about Kane’s availability, head coach Vincent Kompany said: "It’s nothing bad with Harry, but we’ve not got much time to recover.

"Sometimes you need an extra day. But we’ll see how Harry feels in the morning. I’m assuming it’s nothing bad. We’ve not had long to recover."

When pressed later in his pre-match press conference, the Belgian said: "I was a bit blurry in how I said it, whether he’s fit or not. Maybe a bit of a red herring. I can only say that we’ll see (on Tuesday)."


Watch Real Madrid v Manchester City in the Champions League on Wednesday from 7.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Digital highlights of games available on RTÉ Sport YouTube and RTÉ.ie and RTÉ News app

Watch Republic of Ireland v Turkey in the UEFA Women's Nations League on Friday from 7pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Listen to live commentary with 2fm's Game On

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